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Life and Sayings 
of Sam P. Jones 




The Only Author- 
ized and Authentic 
Work 



BY HIS WIFE 

In Collaboration with 
Rev. Walt Holcomb, a 
Co-worker of Mr. Jones 






» 



1907 

THE FRANKLIN-TURNER CO. 

PUBLISHERS 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA 



Those Wanting a Copy of, or the Agency for, this Book 
will please address as below 

A. N. JENKINS C& SCOTT 

SOLE DISTRIBUTORS 
Austell Building, ATLANTA, GA. 



- 











LIBRARY of CONGRESS 




Two Copies Received 
JAN 9 1907 






v^ Copyright Entry , 

/w, 7, 1 Cj I 

CLASS A XXc„ No. 

/ <* Us-3 

COPY B. ' 




Copyright 1906, by 


MRS. SAM P. JONES 


ai>;d 


THE FRANK UN-TURNER CO. 



CONTENTS. 

Foreword 17 

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
As I Knew Him . . 19 

• CHAPTER II. 
His Ancestry 33 

CHAPTER III. 
His Early Days 42 

CHAPTER IV. 
His Conversion and First Sermon 50 

CHAPTER V. 
His First Work in the Conference 57 

CHAPTER .VI. 
Other Pastorates and Revivals . .- 72 

CHAPTER VII. 
Early Evangelistic Work and Last Pastorate 81 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Orphans' Home and Revival Work. 90 

CHAPTER IX. 

His Fame Spreading 100 

(9) 



10 Contents. 

CHAPTER X. 
Revivals in Southern Towns 112 

CHAPTER XL 
In Brooklyn With Dr. Talmage 124 

CHAPTER XII. 
That Memorable Meeting. . . . 133 

CHAPTER XIII. 
That Memorable Meeting (Continued) 143 

CHAPTER XIV. 
In Missouri and St. Louis 156 

CHAPTER XV. 
In Missouri and St. Louis (Continued) 167 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Cincinnati Revival 176 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Cincinnati Revival (Continued) 187 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Chicago Campaign 198 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The Chicago Campaign (Continued) 208 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Baltimore Awakening 217 



Contents. 11 

CHAPTER XXL 
The Baltimore Awakening (Continue) 225 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Indianapolis, St. Paul and Minneapolis 233 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
In Toronto and Canada. 237 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Omaha and Kansas City. 24S 

CHAPTER XXV. 
The; Great Work in Boston 254 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

On the Pacific Coast 263 

I. — Los Angeles 263 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

On the Pacific Coast (Continued) 269 

II. — Sacramento 269 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

On the Pacific Coast (Continued) 275 

III. — San Francisco 275 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Toledo Meeting 280 

CHAPTER XXX. 
The Work in the South 284 



12 Contents. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
The Work in the South (Continued) 295 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
His Life and Work at Cartersville 306 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Mr. Jones — A Study 316 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

A Summary 333 

The Fiftieth Anniversary ....*.... 333 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
Dead Soldier of the Cross Comes Home , 341 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
The Funeral Service 347 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Body Lies in State in Atlanta. ....... 363 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Memorial Services 371 

Tributes at Nashville 371 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Memorial Services (Continued) 391 

Service at Chattanooga 391 



Contents. 13 

CHAPTER XL. 

Memorial Services (Continued) 399 

Addresses at Atlanta 399 

Rev. A. W. Lamar 407 

CHAPTER XLL 

Appreciations from Prominent Ministers. . 409 

Bishop O. P. Fitzgerald 409 

Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D.D 412 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Appreciations from Distinguished Men. . 414 

Hon. John Temple Graves 414 

Hon. William Jennings Bryan • 415 

In Memoriam — Sam Jones. Hon. Thomas E. Watson. . . . 416 

CHAPTER XLIII. 
Sayings oe Sam P. Jones 423 

CHAPTER XLIV. 
Sayings oe Sam P. Jones (Continued) 428 

CHAPTER XLV. 
Sayings oe Sam P. Jones (Continued) 433 

CHAPTER XLVI. 
Sayings oe Sam P. Jones (Continued) 43? 

CHAPTER XLVII. 
Sayings oe Sam P. Jones (Continued) 443 



14 Contents. 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 
Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued) : 449 

CHAPTER XLIX. 
Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued) 455 

CHAPTER h. 
Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued) 460 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Forty-eight pages of Illustrations, not page-numbered, plus 464 type pages, 
equal to 512 pages in Volume. 



BOOK ONE 



His Development 



Co i£)i0 CftilOren 




REV. SAM P. JONES. 




\ 



y 



MRS. SAM P. JONKS. 



FOREWORD. 



While in the last meeting Mr. Jones conducted, which was in 
Oklahoma City, in conversation with me, he suggested that we set 
apart the month o<f December for the purpose of getting together the 
material for a book containing the story of his life and work. It 
was Mr. Jones's wish that we write the book, and he requested Rev. 
Walt Holcomb, who was associated with him in evangelistic work, 
to spend December in our home and assist us. Our plans were made 
to do as he suggested. 

But in the Providence of God, Mr. Jones was called to his reward ; 
and Mr. Holcomb and I are left to carry out his plans. Acting upon 
the advice of friends, we began the manuscript as early as my 
strength would permit, and we have followed the best we knew how 
what we believe would have been his wishes could he have spoken 
to us. 

For nearly thirty-five years I have preserved newspaper and 
magazine accounts of his great meetings throughout the United 
States. In order to get our bearings, and map out the best plan for 
the book, it was necessary to get the material chronologically ar- 
ranged, and do much careful and discriminating reading. 

We have not tried to give a critical study of Mr. Jones and his 
labors, but to present them in the simplest way, that those who 
knew and loved him might have a true record of his long, useful 
career. The book, however, will be suggestive to those who wish 
to know the secret of his wonderful life. We have made free use 
of illustrations, anecdotes and stories related by Mr. Jones to 

23 (17) 



18 Foreword. 

make the work characteristic of himself. As there is such a demand 
for his "Sayings/' we have included many of them. The reader 
may follow his development, his crowning ministry, and study him 
in the many capacities in which he served. 

Some of the tributes given at the funeral and the memorial serv- 
ices have been used. We regret that we could not use all of them. 
Other tributes prepared by friends appear in the volume. 

Rumors of unauthorized books coming into the field made it 
necessary for this one to be given to the public as early as possible. 

Many friends have been very generous in supplying us with 
valuable material for the manuscript, which we gratefully acknowl- 
edge. 



The Life and Sayings of Sam P. Jones. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



As I Knew Him. 

The saddest task my love could perform is this tribute to my 
husband, in writing the story of his life, and when I attempt to 
write of him as I knew him my heart is filled with sadness, and my 
eyes with tears, for I knew him: in the most sacred relations of life, 
first as his sweetheart, his wife, his helpmeet, the companion of his 
youth, the mother of his children, whom he loved more than his own 
life, and then when the frost began to fall as a mantle upon his 
head, and the weight of care and the burden of years to bend the 
precious shoulders that bore so many burdens for the careworn and 
overburdened fellow man, whom he tried to help, and labored and 
wore himself out in a life of service to save — we were all the more 
to each other, and our love instead of diminishing grew and. grew 
until it seems to me since he has gone from me so suddenly, slipped 
away from me, leaving me the sacred charge of following him, 
leading our children to the foot of the Cross — and finally reuniting 
on the morn of the Resurrection — that until that day my life must 
remain incomplete. I could not tell of him as I knew him; no 
words, no language could describe him. 

I have often heard him say in public life, as well as at home, "The 
highest ambition I have on earth is to have those who survive me 
say of me when I am dead and gone, 'Sam Jones lived up to and 
died by his convictions.' That I was a true man, a good husband, a 
good father to my children and a good neighbor and citizen, with- 
out reproach." I believe the supreme wish of his life has been 

(19) 



20 Sam P. Jones. 

granted. The people of Cartersville will testify that he was a 
neighbor and a citizen without reproach. His audiences all over the 
United States and Canada will testify that he lived up to his con- 
victions and was willing to suffer for them, and all his children 
will unite in declaring that he was the most patient, gentle and the 
tenderest of fathers, and I feel sure that I will not weary the readers 
of this book when I declare to them that he was an ideal husband. 
I have reason to know, for I have been his cherished companion, not 
only in the privacy of our home, but in public life during all these 
years of his noble career. 

It was in the home of Mr. Austin Dupuy, whose father owned 
the adjoining farm to my father's, that this young man was a 
visitor during the eight months of his stay in Kentucky. He was 
taken in as a son of the household and soon became the mosttalked- 
of personage in the neighborhood, for most of that part of the 
country during the Civil War was in sympathy with the North, 
and this young man was the son of a Confederate captain, and he 
created a good deal of interest among the people. 

This family being such intimate friends of my father's it was per- 
fectly natural that my brothers should very soon know this young 
man, and he was invited to our home ; in fact, was a constant visitor 
there during his entire stay in Kentucky. 

It was on a Friday afternoon in January, 1864, that, in company 
with one of my young girl friends, it was my privilege to come 
home and spend the Sabbath, from the boarding-school in New- 
castle, Ky., that I met this young man. When I g-ot home my 
mother was full of praises for Sam Jones, the Georgia boy, who had 
come home with Lieutenant Dupuy, and when my brother came we 
were all delighted that he had brought him with him to spend the 
night. And my first introduction to him was by my mother, who 
said, "Laura, this is Sam Jones from Georgia.'' I looked at him 
and saw a bright-faced boy with large brown eyes, and my heart 
went out to him in sympathy, for I had heard something of his 
history and separation from his family from my mother. This 
was the first sight of the boy who was, in after years, to become 
my cherished companion, and whose name was to become a house- 
hold word all over the land. 



Sam P. Jonbs. 21 

In the latter part of the year of 1864, it was made possible for him 
to return South and join his mother in Lumpkin, Ga. I often met 
him during the remainder of his stay in the community and grew 
to like him. After he left us he corresponded regularly with my 
younger brother, but it was quite a surprise when I received my 
first letter from him, after he had been away several months, From 
this time we corresponded regularly. 

In 1867 Capt. John Jones, Mr. Jones's father, was commissioned 
to go into the Middle States and solicit supplies for the people of the 
desolated South, and traveling through Kentucky, he made it con- 
venient to visit the friends of his son in Henry county. He came 
to our home and made me very happy by chance allusions to his son 
Sam, whose image at this time was deeply graven on my girlish 
heart, and from whom I received frequent letters. In this time of 
struggling poverty in the South Mr. Jones was unable to return to 
Kentucky to see me, and for four years we corresponded, but were 
not engaged until the spring of 1868. At this time he was studying 
law, and expecting to be admitted to the Bar the first of November 
of the same year. And we had decided on this time for our mar- 
riage. After being admitted to the Bar in the courts of Georgia, 
he took the first train for my home, and on November 24, 1868, 
we were married very quietly, the marriage being witnessed only by 
my mother, brothers and a few relatives and friends. My father 
refused to witness the ceremony, because he had learned since Mr. 
Jones's return to Kentucky that he had become dissipated — but, 
thank God, long before my father's death he saw God's hand in 
my choice, and learned to love Mr. Jones as his own son. My 
brothers were not entirely willing to entrust the care of their only 
sister, then a young girl of eighteen, to this young man of whom they 
knew so little — but my mother, the high-bred, spirited woman that 
she was, said, "Now, Laura, you've promised to marry Sam Jones, 
he has come for you, and you are going to redeem your promise." 
She never regretted this advice, and through the long years of her 
widowhood he was a son in every respect, and she often said she 
knew no difference in her love for me and her love for Mr. Jones. 

In after-years the homestead came into my possession, but my 



22 Sam P. Jones. 

mother made it her home as long as she lived, spending her winters 
with us and her summers in Kentucky, and so it was made possible 
for me to go and spend a portion of the time with her. And here 
Mr. Jones would snatch a day or two frequently from his many 
engagements, coming to the home of my girlhood to live over the 
old scenes of happiness of our youthful days, when no thought of 
the future, with its cares, responsibilities, perplexities, and, above 
all, its increasing, abiding love, growing stronger each day, came 
to us. When I was called to my home one day in August, 
1895, to see my mother before she passed away, Mr. Jones was in 
Baltimore engaged in a camp-meeting at Emory Grove, and our 
eldest daughter, Mrs. Turner, was in the Johns Hopkins hospital 
very ill ; he joined me to pay the last tribute to her whom he had 
loved as a mother, and to whom he had shown every respect. And 
when she left us, we went to the little church where she worshipped 
and Mr. Jones made such a beautiful talk, thrilling those who 
gathered to pay their last tribute of love; how my mother loved 
him, and stood by him and had indeed been his mother since the 
day he came to Kentucky in 1868 to claim her only daughter as 
his wife. 

After our marriage we left at once for Mr. Jones's home in 
Georgia. In those days traveling facilities were greatly inferior 
to those of the present day, and it took us three days to make the 
trip from Kentucky to Carters ville, which was to be our home for 
a time. We were welcomed by Mr. Jones's family and were en- 
tertained for some weeks in his father's home. Never will I forget 
those days. I was a proud, high-spirited Kentucky girl, who had 
been raised in affluence, and these new surroundings were so differ- 
ent to any I had been accustomed to. On the first Sunday after our 
marriage Mr. Jones and I went to church with his father and 
mother, and when we got to the door of the church a sudden shy- 
ness seemed to come over him, and he left me, after starting up the 
aisle with me, to walk alone and sit with his parents, and he went 
back and sat near the door during the service. But, I am glad to 
say, in all the thirty-eight years of our married life this was the 
first and only time he deserted me. He said I taught him better 
when I got home that memorable day. 



Sam P. Jonss. 23 

Mr. Jones had been admitted to the Bar before our marriage and 
his prospects seemed bright for the future, but for the South the 
times were very straightened, and professional men of experience 
often suffered from lack of employment and poor pay for service 
they rendered; so a young man necessarily had little advantage. 
Thinking he would be more successful elsewhere, we decided to go 
to Dallas, and go into a little home of our own and live in a very 
modest way, and there our first little girl, Beulah, was born October 
31, 1869. We remained in Dallas only a few months, going from 
there to Alabama, staying in Alabama until Mr. Jones's father 
expressed a desire that we should return to Cartersville, as he needed 
his son's assistance in caring for him in his sickness, he having been 
an invalid for many months, having contracted lung trouble during 
the terrible exposure of the war. 

It was in August, 187 1, that God in His wisdom, saw fit to take 
unto Himself our little Beulah, then twenty-one months old, and it 
seemed to us in our young lives that the sunshine of life had surely 
gone out, leaving all so dark and desolate. Never will I forget Mr. 
Jones's grief. He loved this beautiful little girl so tenderly, and I 
have never seen any man so fond of little babies as he. Each one 
that came into our home brought joy and gladness to his heart from 
the first to the last. A few weeks after the death of our little 
girl, Beulah, our second daughter, Mary, now Mrs, Turner, came 
into our life. 

At this time we lived in a little cabin in Cartersville, which is 
only a short distance from our present home, and it was in one of 
the last sermons that he preached at the tabernacle meeting that 
Mr. Jones gave a few pages of his life, dwelling upon the fact how 
God would bless a man if he lived right and walked humbly before 
Him, and spoke of the fact that when he was converted and started 
out in the ministry that we were living in this humble home, and 
how through the years of his faithfulness, as he believed he had 
been faithful to God, how God had blessed him not only in a spirit- 
ual, but in a material way. How God had, through friends, given 
us this beautiful home wherein we now dwell, and how we had 
dedicated it to God, and had tried through the years to be faithful 
to our vows. 



24 Sam P. Jones. 

Mr. Jones at this time was not so dissipated as he had been for 
the first two years of our married life, but he had abandoned his 
law practice altogether, and it was by his daily labor that we were 
enabled to live. He worked for many months, firing a furnace, 
three miles from Carters ville, having his dinner at n a, m., 
and returning home at i a. m. Often in after-years he would 
say to me, "Wife, I never look up at the stars at night that 
I don't think of the months I fired that old Bartow furnace. It 
seemed to me that I counted hundreds of times each star in the 
heavens and thought of the Great Beyond." Did any whisper of 
his future greatness come to him ? Did he realize the undeveloped 
power which lay dormant in him? The power which would sway 
the multitudes as no other man had swayed them since our Divine 
Christ lived among men? No man ever mounted the pinnacle of 
fame more rapidly, and yet no man ever seemed so unconscious of 
his greatness. 

Through these years of trial and poverty we found that our 
friends were not so numerous, but there was one of whom he always 
loved to speak, who was ever faithful, and that was an old colored 
woman, Aunt Ann Mickens, who lived near by (we having only 
one or two near neighbors) . She was a woman who had given her 
heart to God and was a faithful Christian. She and her husband 
lived on the hill, and had known Mr. Jones all the years of his life 
that he lived in Cartersville, and loved him devotedly,. She would 
come night and morning during my sickness and minister unto 
me and give me all the help possible, praying constantly for us that 
God might lead us out into better and more useful lives. It was 
our privilege in after-years, when God had blessed us, to minister 
in turn to her and her husband, who was helpless for many years. 
In Mr. .Jones's visits home she was among the number that he 
always visited, and contributed to her support, trying to make her 
latter years as comfortable as possible. It was during one of his 
visits home that he went to see her before leaving, and she said to 
him, "God bless you, Marse Sammy. When you gits back from 
this trip I will be gone, but I will be sitting right inside the gates 
of heaven when you come, waiting to welcome you, and will tell 
the Lord Jesus how good you was to an old nigger down 1 here." 




GRANDFATHER JONES. 




GRANDMOTHER JONES. 



Sam P. Jones. 26 

I have spoken at length of Mr. Jones as I knew him before his 
conversion. His conversion, his call to the ministry, and his work 
as a pastor in the North Georgia Conference are spoken of fully in 
chapters to follow. His work as an evangelist is also taken up and 
covered completely. 

I shall now speak briefly of him as a husband and father, and his 
social life, and in the hours of sorrow and bereavement. 

Frequently his work while the Agent of the Orphans' Home took 
him away from us, and perhaps a letter written February 10, 1881, 
will show his great solicitude for his home, wife and children while 
necessarily separated from them; also his faithfulness to God and 
duty : 

"My Dear Wife : I received your postal yesterday. I do wish 
you would quit these postals. Are you out of envelopes, paper and 
stamps? I want you to write me all about how you feel. Maybe 
you say if I am so much interested in how you feel, I would go 
home and see. Well, Laura., I had rather be with you this moment 
than to be anywhere in the known world, yet I am here, and why I 
came here and why I am still here, I can only feel is by the direction 
of the Lord. It is only in the path of duty that I can walk safely. 
You know, dear wife, that the Lord has done wonderful things 
for us, whereof we ought to be glad, and whatever the demands 
of duty are let us comply gladly and freely. I think often 
of you all at home, 'Be it ever so humble there's no place like 
home.' After preaching here last night some of the brethren came 
to me and said, 'You must send for Sister Jones.' I really think you 
would enjoy being here a few days. You never met a kinder 
people, and it would be so nice for me to* have you come. I think 
Mary and Annie, for papa's sake, would stay at home with Miss 
Kate, and be good girls. After all I have written, wife, I want you 
to do as will be the most pleasure and comfort to you. Let me 
hear from you by return mail. Love to all. 
"Your husband, 

"Sam P. Jones." 

While on the Van Wert Circuit, May 11, 1873, Annie, our 



2o Sam P. Jones. 

daughter, now Mrs. Rouhs Pyrcn, was bom. Our oldest son, Sam 
Paul, was born on May 31, 1875. Our second son, Robert W. Jones, 
was born on Christmas Eve, 1876, while on the Desoto Circuit. 
Our fourth daughter, Laura, now Mrs. B. C. Sloan, was bom in 
October, 1881, at Social Circle. 

With our five living children, and the added cares and responsi- 
bilities which had been multiplied, and which were necessarily heavy 
upon me, Mr. Jones felt that we must locate permanently, and buy 
a little home where he could leave us in comfort. We considered 
both Marietta and Cartersville, but Mr. Jones was specially drawn 
to the home of his boyhood, where so many of his people live. In 
our Cartersville home our youngest daughter, Julia Baxter, was 
bom in April, 1885. No father ever loved little children more than 
he, and the coming of our last child brought special delight to his 
heart, as there had not been a child born in our home in the last 
four and a half years. Our grandchildren, of whom five are living, 
Laura and Eva Mays, Samuel Paul Jones, Robert Porter Jones, and 
Sam Jones Sloan, were a constant source of love and pleasure to 
him. When the last little one came just one year ago, we hesitated 
when he arrived to name him Sam Jones, as the other boys had been 
given his name in part. Mr. Jones was away from home at the time, 
and when he returned after a few days the subject was mentioned, 
and we saw that he was delighted with the idea of calling this 
sturdy little fellow Sam Jones Sloan, and he was particularly de- 
voted to this boy all the days that followed. He wrote the Atlanta 
Journal, saying, "With the advent of another grandson in our 
home comes great joy and rejoicing, and I am pleased beyond 
measure with the fact that he is named plain, flat-footed Sam Jones." 
Somehow he seemed to be endeared to this little fellow more and 
more as the days went by. On the eve of our leaving home for 
Oklahoma City he took the dear little boy in his arms and said to 
me, "I would love to live to see the day when this dear child will 
be grown, and will take up the work that I am doing." 

The people of Nashville, where he had held a great meeting, 
generously offered to give him a beautiful home, but after consider- 
ing and praying over it, he decided to remain at Cartersville. Then 



Sam P. Jonss. 27 

the citizens of Nashville made a generous donation for the purpose 
of improving our Cartersville home, and through their generous 
gift our home was completed. Mr. Jones was so* grateful to God 
and friends for the home that he decided to dedicate it to the Lord, 
and on Christmas Day, in 1885, the house was formally dedicated 
at 2 130 p.m., Dr. T. R. Kendall, of Louisville, Ky., conducting 
the service. After an appropriate hymn and prayer by Dr. Kendall, 
Mr. Jones arose and, in a most touching and earnest manner, pre- 
sented the home to Dr. Kendall, as a minister of God for dedication 
to His service. The official minister then read several appropriate 
passages of Scripture, and after commending the action, express- 
ing the hope that many others must follow the example, he 
accepted the home in the name of the Lord. He then called upon 
Rev. W. A. Dodge, who offered a fervent prayer for God's bless- 
ings upon the home and family. 

Four generations of Mr. Jones's family were present, including 
his venerable grandfather, uncles, brothers, sisters, mother and my 
mother. 

His beautiful thoughts concerning home and home-life, and the 
blessings of God in the home, were so sacred and sublime that 
every one present saw him in an entirely different light to what the 
world had known him 1 . Some one who was present, in writing of 
the rearrangement of the home, said, "I was struck with something 
about Sam Jones's home which is typical of his life. When he built 
his present home he had the old home, which was a one-story frame 
building, raised and a new portion built under it. The old home- 
stead is there, but it is elevated and made beautiful by the new part, 
which is a handsome foundation. So it is with the life of the 
owner. The old Sam Jones has been lifted up, with a new man 
and a firm foundation, the maker and builder of which is God. 
While the entire new structure is beautiful to behold, yet the old 
Sam Jones is still there, with the humor and the boyishness and 
the love for all mankind." 

In his social life, Mr. Jones was always a marvel, and a source 
of untold delight to the friends that gathered in our home. We 
celebrated several occasions of note; among the first, was our 



28 Sam P. Jones. 

twenty-fifth anniversary, thirteen years ago, the twenty-fourth day 
of November. This was a notable occasion in our lives, and we had 
begun to look forward to the fiftieth milepost, hoping to God, if 
it was His will, to let us journey together these few more years. 
Ke so often spoke of what a God-given privilege it was for a man 
and his wife to journey together for fifty years, and at the end of 
that time celebrate their golden wedding. It was on the occasion 
of the fiftieth anniversary of our friend and neighbor, "Bill Arp" 
that he said, "How glad I would be if God would let me live to 
celebrate with you, my beloved wife, the fiftieth anniversary of 
our marriage/' 

Another, and the greatest occasion of the gathering together of 
our friends, was on the occasion of Mr. Jone's fiftieth birthday, 
just nine years before he celebrated his fifty-ninth birthday in the 
glorious City where many of those who were with him on the 
occasion of this celebration had gone on before, and I imagine 
it was a reunion of great gladness and joy. Mr. Jones's happiness 
on the dawn of his birthday knew no bounds. He was like a 
schoolboy come home to spend a holiday. The day dawned clear 
and beautiful. Forty-nine of his friends gathered with him and 
we were happy indeed. We give in his own words a few thoughts 
on this occasion. (Copied on separate page.) 

We also had a. Christmas dinner for the boys of Cartersville, 
that he might bring them in closer touch with himself, and also 
a dinner for railroad men from many places. He loved these men 
tenderly and wanted to help them, because of their great kindness 
to him. And although Mr. Jones was a. very busy man, having 
only a few weeks in the year oftentimes to spend with his home 
people, he enjoyed beyond measure these memorable occasions. He 
loved his home and his home people and his association with them. 

While the past seems dim' before my tear-filled eyes, and present 
great sorrow, it is still sweet to remember the gladsome look on 
his face and to feel that he appreciated the efforts made in his 
home to add this pleasure in various anniversaries. 

But it was in the time of sickness and bereavement that his real 
heart was seen. I was taken violently ill on the twelfth day of 



Sam P. Jonks. 29 

November, 1887, in Rochester, New York, as I was traveling with 
Mr. Jones on one of his extended lecture-trips, and I remained 
in New York five weeks. At the expiration of this time the doctor 
who was in attendance upon me told Mr. Jones that I would die, 
and as my anxiety was so great to see my children he advised him, 
if possible, to bring me home. The friend with whom we were 
staying was the President of the Delaware and Hudson River Rail- 
road, and he offered Mr. Jones his private car for the journey. 
His wife, the physician and four other friends attended me. When 
we arrived in Atlanta, having telegraphed ahead for Dr. Bizell to 
meet us, he accompanied us home. Immediately upon our arrival 
here he performed an operation which was of a very serious nature, 
and my life hung in the balance for many weeks. The physicians 
held out little hope for my recovery. Mr. Jones was well-nigh 
prostrated, and his tender solicitude, as he watched by my bedside, 
touched deeply the hearts of those who were near him. It was 
the most sorrowful experience, as he often expressed it, in his whole 
life, for no man, I think I may truly say, ever loved more beauti- 
fully, more tenderly or sweetly than he did. He not only loved 
me with all the affection of his nature but he depended on me. Out- 
side of his love for God, I think his love for me was the greatest 
tiling in the world. While my life was swinging uncertainly in 
the balance he divided his time between watching by my bedside, 
and praying to God to spare my life. 

His suspense and sorrow was terrible. Calling his children 
together one day, he told them that he had given up hope, and they 
must be prepared for the greatest sorrow of their lives, although 
he was still praying to God to save me, and he said, "I have prom- 
ised God that if He will give her back to us, I will never while I 
live give her a moment's pain or speak a cross or impatient word 
to her." Soon after this an improvement was noted in my condition, 
as though God had accepted the promise of my beloved husband, and 
I believe He did. While Mr. Jones was always tender and thought- 
ful before, it was literally true from that day to the last day 
of his life he kept his promise to God. He was never heard to 
utter an impatient word to his wife and his faithfulness to God 
has been known to the people throughout the land. 



30 Sam P. JonSS. 

There was another period in his life when his faith in God 
was tested. That was when our daughter Mary was so ill for 
many weeks at the birth of her oldest daughter, and he saw that 
all human help was powerless. He went to God in prayer and 
called upon some of his friends whom he knew lived close to the 
throne to pray with him. Among them were Brother L. P. Brown., 
of Meridian, Miss,, who gives a very beautiful experience in his own 
life, when he took this girl to God in prayer, and how he had the 
assurance from God Himself that her life would be spared. 
Although many people came to Mr. Brown and told him they had 
seen in the papers that Mary was dead, he said he knew it was not 
true, for God had assured him that she would live; and it was in 
answer to these prayers that she lives to-day. 

In January, 1888, after the trying period of my serious illness, 
Mr. Jones went to Kansas City to hold a meeting, which had been 
postponed for several weeks on account of my sickness. Having 
been there a short while, he became so homesick to see me that he, 
leaving the meeting in the hands of some one else, came over a 
thousand miles to spend one day with me. Although it was his 
custom to write me daily, and keep it up till the end, at times he 
was so homesick he would cancel his engagements to come to us. 

I knew him as a sweetheart, a husband, a father, a Christian. 
He was loving, kind, generous to a fault, and above all things, I 
knew him in his faithfulness to God. 

In the last tabernacle meeting after a hard summer's work with 
great trials, tribulations, and temptations, he said to the people : 
"It seems that this has been the hardest year of my life. At times 
it seems that my grip on God was loosened, and then I went to 
him in my great distress and poured out my soul in earnest prayer, 
and God came into my room and lifted the burden from my heart, 
and gave me assurance of victory, and I could hear him say almost 
in audible tones as if the voice was clear from heaven : 

'When through the deep waters I call thee to go, 
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow, 
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, 
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.' " 



Sam P. Jones. 31 

So he went through life, bearing the burdens, yet filling life 
full of kind deeds, and always giving pleasure and happiness to 
others, until the time had come, many years ago, when everything 
was dated from and to, "when 'daddy' comes home." We always 
saved the best of everything for him, and when the time came for 
him to come home we all met him at the depot, the children 
scrambling for the first kiss. When the train pulled into our station 
he would always be standing on the lowest step of the car, waiting 
to step off to receive our welcome. I can see him now, in memory, 
as his face would light up with that wonderful smile, so dear to 
me, when he would catch the first sight of his wife, children and 
grandchildren, waiting to welcome him home. Oh, those home- 
comings ! they were so dear to me, and although we will be denied 
the earthly pleasure of his homecomings, thank God, he waits at 
the terminal station of Life's great railway there to welcome each 
of his loved ones with joy that no homecoming could have given 
him on this earth. 

The last weeks that I knew him were in our Cartersville meeting 
and his final work in Oklahoma City. After the strain and burdens 
of the tabernacle meeting, I was quite unwell, and felt that a few 
days, or a week's rest at home would benefit me greatly, and thought 
I would remain at home, and not accompany him to Oklahoma 
City, as two of the children were not well at the time. But Mr. 
Jones seemed unusually determined to have me accompany him. 
I hesitated at first, but finally made up my mind to go, and the 
journey proved more pleasant than I anticipated. I improved so 
much while in Oklahoma City and our companionship was so 
delightful. We were together more, without the presence of others, 
than we had been in the given time for years. Did God, in His 
merciful tenderness give me those two happy weeks, to try to 
soften the terrible blow He knew was coming? 

The afternoon we left Oklahoma City, October 14th, it was 
raining and so dreary, but Mr. Jones seemed cheerful and happy 
and I never dreamed he would leave me so soon. But I do thank 
God that He made it possible for me to be with: him to the very 
last, and I know that His goodness arid mercy followed him to 



32 Sam P. Jones. 

the very last days of his life, and he now dwells and will forever 
dwell in the house of the Lord. And although I can not express 
in words what he was to me or how I loved him, I want the world 
to know, as many thousands already know, that although he was the 
greatest man of the nineteenth century in public life — pure, true, 
honorable and kind to all his fellow men — his greatness was in 
greater evidence in the place he loved above all else — his home. 

This departure is an inexplicable Providence as I see it now. 
But for my faith in God, and my knowledge of his strong and 
abiding faith in God and my profound belief in the excellency of 
his character and the purity of his motives, all mingled with the 
hope of a glad meeting in the sweet by and by, how could I bear this 
great loss or be able to say, "Lord, Thy will be done/' 



CHAPTER II. 



His Ancestry. 

In tracing Mr. Jones's ancestry, we begin as far back as August 
1 6, 1805. To Rev. and Mrs. John Jones, of Abbeville District, 
South Carolina, was born a son, whom they named Samuel G. 
Jones. Both parents died when the boy was four years old. He 
was then taken into the home of an uncle, where he remained until 
he was seventeen. Leaving South Carolina, he came to Elbert 
county, Georgia, where he was apprenticed to a tanner for a term 
of two or three years. At the expiration of this time he married 
Miss Elizabeth Ann Edwards, a daughter of Rev. Robert L. 
Edwards, who was for a number of years a member of the South 
Carolina Conference, and later of the Georgia Conference. 

He was married in his twenty-first year, and his wife was in her 
sixteenth year. They lived together happily fifty-one years. They 
reared eleven children ; nine sons and two daughters. 

Remaining in Elbert county for a few years after his marriage, 
Mr. Jones then removed to Heard county, Georgia, and from there 
to Chambers county, Alabama, and later in life he returned to Geor- 
gia and settled at Cartersville, where he died at the advanced age of 
ninety years. He was converted and joined the Methodist church 
at the age of sixteen and was licensed to preach at thirty-three. 
For many years he had served the church as class-leader, Sunday- 
school superintendent, steward and exhorter. After he was licensed 
to preach, he was ordained deacon in 1843 by Bishop Soule, and 
elder in 1848 by Bishop Capers. 

From the time he was licensed to preach until his death, he was 
an honored and an acceptable local preacher in the Methodist church. 
In twenty-eight years he only missed three appointments, often 
walking nine miles to preach after a hard week's work. 

(33) 



34 Sam P. Jones. 

He was a rather peculiar combination of manly and noble char- 
acteristics. He stood strongly for his convictions. His common 
sense was unusual. He was an old-time preacher. His preaching 
was notable for its directness, clearness and simplicity. He was of 
Scotch-Irish descent, and had much quaint humor. 

To be with grandfather Jones and hear him talk was to feel a 
holy inspiration, and to be impelled towards a better Christian life. 
His conversation was on high and holy things, showing a remark- 
able memory and a clear conception of the teachings of the Holy 
Scriptures, of which his life had been a shining illustration. In 
Mr. Jones we find some of the characteristics of his grandfather. 
Much of the wit and humor in the grandfather, also the directness, 
clearness and simplicity, were reproduced in the grandson. Here we 
have some of the strongest elements of Mr. Jones's success. Mr. 
Jones visited his grandfather on his fiftieth anniversary, and speaks 
of him in the following way : 

"Six years ago, I got a letter from my old grandfather Jones, 
who lived across two counties from us, and he wanted me to come 
and visit him. The letter said : 'You and your wife and children 
must come to see us; your grandmother and I have lived happily 
together for fifty years, and now we are going to celebrate our 
golden wedding.' 

"I didn't intend going, but I thought over it and conclucied to go, 
and we went. After we had finished dinner, grandfather formed 
all of us around him in a circle and told us this story : Away back 
when he was sixteen years old, in the southern part of Georgia, 
he was bound out until he was twenty-one; while he was trudging 
away at his work, the little village was stirred up one day by some 
Methodists coming through holding a revival meeting, and he, like 
every one else, went to hear the preaching, but not like every one 
else, he was converted to God, and was baptized ; a few years after- 
ward he was ordained and has preached the gospel ever since. 
'There are fifty-two members in our family, of these twenty-two 
have crossed over on the other side, sixteen were infants ; and, with 
God as my surety, I know they are in heaven, the other six died 
happy (and one of these was my father). 



Sam P. Jones. 35 

" 'There are thirty left, and all but one are in the church and on 
the straight and narrow path that leads to heaven; but that one, 
oh, I have wept over that brother; I have shed tears of bitter 
anguish ; I have prayed for him and with him, and at last he surren- 
dered to the power greater than he, and is to-day a powerful min- 
ister of the gospel. Then the old man said, with tears in his eyes, 
that he didn't care whether he stayed down here with his thirty 
children and grandchildren, or went up yonder with the twenty-two 
to wait for us all." 

Grandfather Jones was also in the habit of having a birthday 
celebration, which came on the fifteenth day of August. He would 
have his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends 
present. These were occasions of great grace, more like a revival 
meeting than a mere social gathering. The day was filled with 
songs, prayer, sermons and exhortations, and an exchange of Chris- 
tian experiences. 

The deep religious experience of grandfather, and his earnest 
solicitude for the salvation of his children and grandchildren was 
lived over in Mr. Jones. No man ever loved his home better and 
had keener interest for the welfare of his children. 

At the different anniversaries in our home and the great annual 
tabernacle meetings, our home was more like a prayer-meeting or 
revival than anything else. Some of the rarest and richest religious 
experiences of life have transpired in our home during these gath- 
erings. 

As we have seen, Mr. Jones's grandmother, on his father's side, 
was a daughter of Rev. Robert L. Edwards. Mr. Edwards was 
one of the pioneer preachers of Georgia. He was a giant in his 
day. He preached with unusual unction and was rather unique in 
his ministry. While the gift of wit and humor was not so pro- 
nounced, he was, nevertheless, witty and humorous when he wished 
to be. He had a burning zeal for the salvation of souls, and was 
quick to see an opportunity for preaching the Word of God. He 
was admitted on trial by the South Carolina Conference, at Sparta, 
Georgia, in December, 1806. After serving as an itinerant preacher 
for five years, he located in December, 181 1. He was readmitted 



36 Sam P. Jones. 

into the South Carolina Conference, at Milledgeville, Georgia, in 
December, 1814, and remained in connection with that and the 
Georgia Conference until his death in 1849. 

The Conference Minutes say of him : "As a preacher of the 
gospel lie was one of the most remarkable men that ever labored 
in the Southern States. His preaching abilities were good; espe- 
cially did he excel in the talent for extemporaneous preaching. 
Upon the spur of the moment he could deliver a discourse, marked 
not only with good sense and fervency but with system of thought 
and power upon the hearers. He was dintinguished for his skill 
in planning and conducting meetings in which the conversion of 
souls was the special object. Nor was he ever satisfied with efforts 
which did not result in this end. At camp-meetings he would often 
preach from tent to tent with powerful and blessed effects." 

Rev. James D. Anthony, who heard him preach several times 
during the year 1847, describes a service held at the old Warsaw 
Campground, in the autumn of that year, in the following words : 

"All the preachers had left the tent and were on their way to 
the arbor. Father Edwards, who always believed in being on hand 
in due time, was leading the procession. He halted, and turned, 
facing us, saying: 'Stop, brethren, stop! Tell me who is to preach 
to-night.' 'Brother David Williamson/ some one replied. Then, 
facing Brother Williamson, he said : 'Brother Williamson, what are 
you going to preach about ?' Williamson replied, 'I thought I would 
take a text in Isaiah 48:18: 'Then had thy peace been as a river, 
and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.' 'Pooh, pooh,' ex- 
claimed Brother Edwards, 'That won't do at all. Give 'em salvation, 
brother, give 'em salvation. I tell you, you must give salvation.' 

"Brother Williamson was not a man who could shoot without 
taking a rest, so he preached on 'Peace as a River.' It was a very 
pretty, smooth sermon of about thirty minutes. When he had 
finished, old Brother Dunnagan, an exhorter, arose to conclude the 
services. He eulogized the sermon in beautiful language, and began 
to talk about the 'assize' in England, and the vast numbers that 
attended on such occasions. 

"Brother Edwards was seated in the altar. He rose up, groaned 



Sam P. JonSS. 37 

in spirit, struck a bee-line for the pulpit, and placed his right hand 
on the exhorter's breast, at the same time saying : 'Brother, I don't 
care anything about the 'assize of England.' These people are 
sinners, sir, big sinners, on their way to death. And if you won't 
tell them where they are going, sit down and let me tell them,' 

" 'I was going on,' explained the exhorter, 'to tell them about 
the great assize of the general judgment day; but, my brother, I 
will give place to you. I know you can do better than I can; and. 
he took his seat. Mr. Edwards made an earnest exhortation, and 
when he invited the unsaved to the altar, they came in crowds. 
This moved the church, and the meeting lasted all night. Cries., 
mingled with shouts of converts, and the happy hallelujahs of 
Christians continued to be heard until the sun, full-orbed, rode up 
into the heavens." 

At another time he ran across a crowd waiting for a horse-race 
to come off. He passed a few words with them, and finally decided 
to preach, provided they would listen. Seeing that he had nearly 
an hour before the races, he took his stand on the porch of a little 
store, sang a hymn, knelt down and prayed, and preached a powerful 
sermon. They asked him to stay with them, and preach that night. 
The people were so impressed with his preaching that they urged 
him to remain several days. The result was a wonderful revival 
and a church organized. Thus he went from place to place 
preaching. 

He possessed great physical courage. It is told of him that after 
preaching a very pointed and direct sermon a rowdy fellow waited 
for him to whip him and kill him. if he did not retract some of his 
utterances. Mr. Edwards was riding home when this fellow met 
him in the road. He spoke to him, demanding that he take back 
the things to which he objected. This the preacher refused to do, 
whereupon he struck Mr. Edwards, and the preacher returned the 
blow, but he finally got the sinner on his knees and prayed him 
into the deepest conviction. The man went home and retired, but 
his agony of conviction was so intense that his family, becoming 
alarmed, sent for his pastor; he came and prayed with him and 
led him to the Saviour. 



38 Sam P. Jones. 

These incidents may help to account for some of the qualities 
in Mr. Jones. He was possessed with such a consuming desire 
for the salvation of the lost, and was always ready anywhere to 
preach to sinners, and was possessed with such dauntless courage. 
He used to say, "Fighting is the first instinct of a bulldog, and 
the last resort of a gentleman ; yet you can not have moral courage 
without physical courage as a basis." 

Those who knew Mr. Edwards very well and who heard Mr. 
Jones preach, used to say: "There is a streak of his great-grand- 
father running through Mr. Jones, breaking out here and there." 

His father, Capt. John J. Jones, was a man of many parts. He 
was a lawyer by profession but a business man in every sense of the 
word. In his law practice and business transactions, he made money 
but spent it freely. He did an immense business, and was always 
in a good financial condition. 

Early in his life he was sheriff of the county in which he lived, 
and took a lively interest in politics, but never held any other office. 
He believed in office-holding for his friends. 

His Christian life began very early, as he joined the church when 
young, but it was not until his latter years that he became such a 
devoted Christian. He always felt that he was called to the min- 
istry, but unlike his son, conferred with "flesh and blood." He 
didn't feel that the ministry offered sufficient financial inducement 
for his support, and put off preaching until he could make enough 
money to feel sure of the necessaries of life. Thus he turned to the 
legal profession, and became a lawyer of note, distinguishing him- 
self for his intelligence, integrity, justice, social qualities, and piety. 
As a speaker he was wonderfully gifted, exercising great power 
over a jury. At one moment he would have an audience angry 
because of his invectives and sarcasm ; and, the next moment roar- 
ing with laughter. 

He was the soul of honor. In all of his trades and transactions 
he never took the advantage of any one. 

Some of these strongest elements in Captain Jones were in his 
son. For instance, his honesty, his ability to make money, his great 
generosity, his power over an audience, and the earnestness of his 
Christian life. 



Sam P. Jonks. 39 

His mother was a kind, painstaking, sweet-spirited woman. She 
possessed rare gifts and graces. She was intelligent and refined. 
Her sweet, noble nature was of the finest type. Her Christian life 
was exemplary. When Mr. Jones was nine years old, she passed 
away. He remembered her, and always referred to her as "My 
Precious Mother." He never forgot the hour when his father took 
him and the other children into the parlor, and as a little boy, he 
walked up to her casket and kissed her sweet lips cold in death, 
though at that time he was too young to realize the enormity of 
his loss. She sleeps in the old cemetery at Oak Bowery, Alabama. 

Ten years ago, Mr. Jones went to his mother's grave and to the 
old home of his childhood, and preached to the people who knew 
him in his boyhood days. In speaking of that visit, he wrote the 
following to the Atlanta Journal: 

"One incident on my trip brought up memories that are sacred 
to me. I drove from Opelika, Ala,, out eight miles to the little old 
village of Oak Bowery, Ala,, where I was born. I had not looked 
upon the little village in forty-one years. Only a few houses remain, 
and while I was only nine years old when I last saw the village, 
yet I could identify and call the names of the people who lived in 
those houses. The house where I was born has either been destroyed 
by fire or moved away, but I knew the acre of ground on which I 
was bom. I drove over to the old cemetery, just out of town, 
where my sainted mother has been sleeping in the dust for forty- 
three years, and as I looked upon her tombstone and grave the 
memories they awakened I shall never forget. Memory carried me 
back to childhood's hours. I thought of my mother as she was to 
me, a little boy, kind, loving, beautiful mother! Lying near by her 
was my sister, who died when but five years old. Then I thought 
of my father, who sleeps in the old cemetery at Cartersville. Then 
I wondered how long it would be before I should take my place 
by their side. I was so glad as I looked upon the grave of my 
mother, and felt that were I to take the casket from the ground and 
remove its rusty lid, that perhaps, while I could take the bones of 
my mother up in my hand, yet my Bible whispered to me in that 
silent hour, saying, 'This corruption shall put on incorruption.. 
This mortality shall be swallowed up by immortality.' 



40 Sam P. Jones. 

"I may not again look upon the tomb of my mother. Mother's 
body is all that lies beneath the tomb. She lives and reigns above, 
with the light and life dancing in her eyes and the glow of immortal 
life upon her cheeks. A mother — a good mother — is immortal in 
the memory of her children." 

Mr. Jones descended from good and religious ancestry. There 
was noble blood on both sides of the family. There were no better 
born or better bred people than his. He came from a lineage of 
ministers. His great-grandfather on his mother's side and his 
.grandfather on his father's side were Methodist ministers. He had 
four uncles who were licensed preachers : Rev. Robert Jones, Rev. 
William Jones, Rev. Parks Jones and Dr. J. H. Jones. Not only did 
he come from a preaching ancestry, but from, Methodist lineage. 
He frequently said : "I am a Methodist just like I am a Jones, and, 
if it is a sin to be either, it is a sin that is visited upon the children 
from their parents." And also, he said: "Don't find fault with me 
for being a Methodist, for my family have been Methodists, clear 
back to Adam, for Adam was a Methodist — for didn't he fall?'' 
He was proud of his ancestry and often said : "There is only one 
thing which either man or devil has ever said of me that hurt me, 
and that has stabbed me to the heart. When some little editor or 
man wanted to be more than usually vicious, he said: 'Sam. Jones 
is ill-bred * * * .' 'It is a lie. It is a lie !' God never made 
a sweeter, purer woman than my sainted mother, nor a grander, 
nobler, Christian character than that of my father. No, I am not 
ill-bred. As pure blood flows through my veins as through any 
living man." 

One of the most cultured and thoughtful men of Georgia gives 
this fitting picture of his early life : "I am quite familiar with some 
facts in his biography, and I have reasons to remember that section 
of Alabama with peculiar vividness. Its physical conformation, 
soil and climate early attracted attention, and the families that set- 
tled around Oak Bowery and Lafayette brought with them the inter- 
blended blood of Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky. Thirty-five or 
forty years ago, I knew many of the old population, and especially 
the Methodist families. The pioneers had even then become the 







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Sam P. Jones. 41 

patriarchs, and a finer race of people I never saw. The pictures 
of their saintliness, their tender home life and kind neighborliness, 
the absence of city conventionalisms and the freedom of rural man- 
liness, were very beautiful to me in those days, and more attractive 
now in the mellowing light of later years. How far these home- 
like forms of loveliness and easy habits of Christian intercourse 
affected the young Sam, I can not say ; but I can say that it was a 
line tonic and atmosphere for a boy to breathe in his early days. 
Purity, fervor and buoyancy abounded in the atmosphere of these 
hills, where the great oaks and hickories were symbols of the health 
and vigor of Mr. Jones's ancestry. No doubt the roll and sweep of 
the uplands and their wooded forests were felt in his hereditary 
blood, but the blood itself is unmistakable. The grandmother, the 
mother, the father of Sam, were people of marked character; and 
we may well believe that in such instances heredity is among the 
surest and best of Providential laws. I have no doubt that Sam 
Jones is a large debtor to his ancestral blood. Blood dies, but blood 
manages somehow to get into character and never quite dies." 



CHAPTER III. 



His Early Days. 

Mr. Jones was born in Chambers county, Alabama, October 16, 
1847. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Cartersville, 
Bartow county, Georgia, where he was reared, and resided at the 
time of his death. At his mother's death, the family consisted of 
the father, an older brother, a sister, and a younger brother. The 
children went to the home of their grandfather, Samuel G. Jones. 

His grandmother exerted a wonderful influence upon his young 
mind. She was one of the holiest women that ever lived. Her 
spirituality was remarkable. She read the Bible through thirty- 
seven times, on her knees. She was wonderfully gifted in prayer, 
and spent much time in secret prayer having a time and place SQt 
apart for this devotion daily. This made a great impression on her 
children and grandchildren, and Mr. Jones was greatly impressed 
by her angelic face as he saw it upturned towards heaven. She 
would go to the church dressed in the old-fashioned way, wearing- 
heavy shoes, and, when the Spirit of the Lord would come upon 
her she would give vent to her feelings by shouting the praises of 
God. As she would walk up and down the aisle clapping her hands, 
she moved as lightly and gently as if she were not touching the 
earth. Her wonderful example of piety, prayerfulness and study 
of God's Word made an abiding impression upon Mr. Jones; and, 
no doubt, helped to lay the fundamental principles of a deeply pious, 
earnest and consecrated life. 

In 1859, Captain Jones was married to Miss Jennie Skinner, and 
moved to Cartersville, Georgia. As a stepmother, she was kind and 
good to the children, and did all that she could to instill further into 
their minds the principles of virtue and honesty. Thus guided and 
controlled by her love, and strengthened and supported by a father's 
counsel, Mr. Jones was protected and saved from evil influences. 

(42) 



Sam P. Tonss. 43 

In the home he was always obedient, having the utmost reverence 
for his father and strong devotion for his stepmother. There was 
nothing very extraordinary in his boyhood days, except that he was 
always very bright and full of life. He was witty and humorous, 
even as a child. In school he was. so full of mischief and fun that 
he was constantly playing pranks and jokes on some one. 

While Mr. Jones studied very little during his boyhood days, he 
never failed to recite his lessons creditably. His mind was so alert 
that it didn't take him long to get ready for a recitation. This left 
him free to play, to tease the other boys. 

One of the great events of those early school days was 1 the Friday 
afternoon speeches. It was the custom of the teacher to select the 
speeches for the boys, but Mr. Jones would never allow him to 
select his, but would; make his own selections, and the school was 
greatly surprised at his speeches. The other boys would have to 
go to the woods, study and practice their pieces for a week or 
more, but Mr. Jones would select his speech on Friday and commit 
it to memory, and be ready for that afternoon. His style of address 
was not boy oratory, but he spoke in an easy, conversational style. 
He would create great interest when he arose to speak, and would 
invariably bring the house down, and the school would always cheer 
him. 

While in school at Oak Bowery, Alabama, to W. F. Slaton, after- 
wards Major Slaton, superintendent of the Atlanta public schools, 
as a mere child, perhaps the age of five, he was even then a leader. 
When the night came for the older boys to hold their commencement 
exercises, they begged Mr. Slaton to let "Sam, Jones," as he was 
called by them, take some part. Finally Mr. Slaton agreed and 
himself wrote a parody on the even then trite : 

"You would scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage." 

He had committed these lines to memory, but when the time 
came for the delivery of this speech, he was fast asleep. By the 
application of a wet towel in the young orator's face, he was quickly 
awakened. Professor Slaton carried him in his arms and stood 



44 Sam P. Jon£s. 

him on the table on the stage, and there he made his speech. The 
last two lines were: 

"In coming years and thundering tones 
The world shall hear of Sam, P. Jones." 

Pie recited the speech in his peculiar way and was encored, and 
recited it again, and then several times before the audience became 
satisfied. The other speeches were made by young men who were 
as old as their teacher. The contrast was so great that it added 
special delight to the audience. 

How true the prophesy. If there was ever a man who> literallv 
shook the world with his preaching, it was he. For months after 
the delivery of that little speech, he kept his little companions and 
himself in candy, for everywhere he went, he was asked to repeat 
it, and name his price in candy. The faithful tutorship of Professor 
Slaton was worth much to him, as it laid the groundwork of educa- 
tion before he was seven years of age. Like many wonderful 
preachers, and great la,wyers and professional men, he built upon 
the foundation laid, which is, after all, the safest and best education 
to be had, 

Mr. Charlie Jones, a brother, in speaking of those early school 
days, says : "Sam was a most lovable boy. He was the most attract- 
ive personality to me in my youth, and he remains the most attract- 
ive person to me in all the world, of all the men I have known or 
read of, and he was my brother true and tried for nearly fifty-three 
years. 

"In my youth, I loved to follow him wherever he went, whether 
on hunting or fishing expeditions, as on such occasions he was 
always joined by other genial spirits of our home town. He was 
always the 'wit and the clown' of our party. Those were the bright- 
est and best days of my life, At school he would often dispel the 
tedium of study, and have both pupils and teachers in an uproar 
by doing the unexpected and funny thing. When the teacher would 
catch him in some of his pranks and begin to reprimand him, with 
great dignity and serenity of manner for his misconduct, Sam would 
look at him with a, twinkle in his eye, and a smile that would bring 



Sam P. Jones. 45 

an answering smile from the teacher, which dispelled all of his 
dignity to the extent that he could but order him back to his seat 
amid the laughter of the school, and thus it was at home and in 
school, he could always dispel a frown of disapproval from our 
father's or the teacher's faces with some droll word or act, which 
never failed to put them in good humor, and make them love him 
all the more. 

"When we would have our boyhood disagreements, and some- 
times come to blows, it always ended by Sam putting a nice pocket- 
knife or a piece of money in the latch of the gate as he left the lot 
or yard, before me, and then he would hide near by and watch me 
fed it, when he would look at me with moistened eyes and merry 
laughter as we made up and became better friends than ever." 

When the war broke out between the States in 1861, Captain 
John Jones hurried to Virginia to join Lee, joining the ranks of 
the Southern Confederacy, leaving his second son, Sam, to remain 
with his stepmother and the younger children to assist her in caring 
for the home, but when it was known that Sherman was making 
his way towards Atlanta and would soon be in this part of the 
State, acting upon the advice of her husband, his stepmother decided 
to refugee to South Georgia, feeling that they would be safer there. 
At this time Captain Jones had a livery stable in Cartersville and 
his son Sam was sent out to take the horses to a place of safety, and 
he was expected to come back and go with his mother. But Mrs. 
Jones had to go earlier than she expected, hearing of the approach 
of Sherman, and expecting to meet Sam, she started on her trip 
south, but he had decided to come home another way and in doing 
this he missed her. He came on to Cartersville, where he found the 
old black woman, Mammy Viney, whom 1 he, as well as all the 
family, loved very much, in the home. After spending a few days at 
home with her he decided to go north, as Sherman had already 
taken possession of the town and surrounding country. Here he 
lost sight of his mother and did not know where to communicate 
with her for several months. . 

He made his way to Nashville, and while there he realized that 
he had no means and no employment, and was at a loss to* know 



46 Sam P. Jones. 

just what course to pursue. At this time the Sixth Kentucky reg- 
iment was at this place, en route to Louisville, Kentucky, to be mus- 
tered out of service, as they had served four years in the Federal 
service. Most of this regiment was made up of boys from Henry 
county, Kentucky, and among them were two young men, neighbors 
of my father's, Captain Webb Owens and Lieutenant Dupuy. They 
were much attracted to this young man and he opened his heart 
and told them his story, and of his separation from his family. They 
very cordially invited him to go home with them and remain until 
he could get in communication with his family. He decided to go 
with these new friends and remain until he could hear from his 
father and be able to return to his Georgia home. 

At the close of the war, he got into communication with his 
father, and returned to Cartersville. He then took up his studies 
which had been laid aside on account of the war. 

In his eighteenth or nineteenth year, he entered the excellent 
school of ex-Congressman W. H. Felton and his intelligent wife. 
Under the tutorship of Dr. and Mrs. Felton he made excellent prog- 
ress. 

In speaking of him, Mrs. Felton says: "I first knew Sam when 
a boy. I recall his fine physique. He never had an ounce of surplus 
flesh in his life, and always had a springy step ; and those beautiful, 
bright eyes, with a merry twinkle — that were so fascinating in those 
early days. He was the life of any gathering, and had an independ- 
ence of spirit and disregard for conventionalities that was apparent 
the first time I saw him. 

"Later on, when he entered our school, he was full of life and 
spirit, and his original way of illustrating things or talking about 
events, even then was a force in the town. He never copied after 
anybody. Whether he took a pride in his originality, or otherwise, 
the fact was discovered then that Sam Jones was a unique person- 
ality. Although he was mischievous, he could be relied upon to do 
what he said he would do, and in that early period of his life no 
one who was closely associated with him failed to understand and 
appreciate the tenderness of his nature. The nearer you got to 
him, the better you understood that peculiar trait of his nature, 



Sam P. Jones. 47 

which grew and expanded, and developed until he passed from 
earth." 

After leaving this school he went to Euharlee, Ga., and continued 
his studies under the leadership of the late Professor Ronald John- 
son. He was in line for a collegiate education, which his father 
intended giving him, but it was at this place his health completely 
broke down, and on account of this he was forced to relinquish 
his hope of obtaining a college education. He suffered from the 
worst form of nervous dyspepsia; and, in his sufferings, with his 
health wrecked, with sleepless nights and restless days, he became 
discouraged and despondent and sought relief in drink. Here is 
where he began his dissipation. At times his suffering was so 
intense that he would take a drink, believing that it was the only 
thing that would save his life. Soon the habit was firmly fixed; 
with his health gone, and disappointed because his education could 
not be finished, he went deeper and deeper in intoxication. 

Having reached the point in a young man's life where it is so 
much easier to drift on with the tide than to heed the warnings of 
loved ones, he soon became a slave to liquor. 

It was in this great nervous state, with his health almost gone 
that he began to study law. After one year's study, he was admit- 
ted to the Bar and began to practice law. Judge Milner, of our 
town, said to Captain Jones, in speaking of his son: "You have 
raised the brightest boy ever admitted to the Georgia Bar." Soon 
the speeches that he made at the Bar became the talk of the town. 
They were bright, spicy, thoughtful and powerful. His words 
were simply irresistible. Had he continued the practice of law, 
his name might have gone down in history by the side of Robert 
Toombs and Alexander Stephens, Georgia's most able and noted 
lawyers. But, thank God, in following the path of his lowly Master, 
he has the honor of being so like his Lord, which is far greater than 
ranking as a statesman. 

The new associations growing out of his legal profession made 
it easy for him to continue his dissipation. The success that he met 
with also helped to ruin him. The suppers, banquets and social 
gatherings caused him to plunge deeper into dissipation, until finally 
he lost grip upon his practice and abandoned it altogether. 



48 Sam P. Jones. 

While many people are under the impression that Mr. Jones was 
an habitual and constant drunkard, this, however, is not true. He 
never reached such a point in his dissipation. Others have also 
believed that his dissipation covered a period of many years, when in 
fact this sad period of his life was of but five or six years' dura- 
tion. People have thought that the sins that accompany drink had 
a strong hold upon him. He was remarkably free from such sins. 

Rev. Parks Jones, his uncle, says : "I was with him more or less 
from our school days until his conversion. Pie was at our home, 
and I was at his. I never heard him swear an oath or use a profane 
expression in my life. I don't say that he didn't, but I never heard 
him. I never saw him drunk or in a drunken crowd. The nearest 
I ever came to seeing him drunk was the year that he was converted. 
He was down on the corner of a street in Cartersville and walked 
off towards a barroom. His father noticing him, called in pitiful 
tones: 'Sam! Sam!' That attracted my attention, but he did not 
hear him, or if he did, he paid no attention to his father's trembling 
voice." To him in after-years the sin of drunkenness was so hate- 
ful and enormous that he never forgave himself for his dissipation. 
With such conception of the heinousness of drink he was compelled 
to speak out in fearful denunciation of it, in his own life, as well 
as the lives of others. 

The world while hearing him failed to see, as he did, the hideous- 
ness of drinking, and got the impression that he was a constant, 
habitual and wicked drunkard. He was never anything but good 
at heart, and it was physical weakness that made him dissipate. 

As to my sympathy, prayers and devotion to him in those sad 
years I shall let him speak : 

"In November, 1868, at the age of twenty-one, only one month 
after my admission to the Bar, I was married to Miss Laura McEl- 
wain, of Henry county, Kentucky. I brought her to my Carters- 
ville home, and continued in the practice of law with rich promise 
of success ; but notwithstanding the remonstrances of my good wife, 
notwithstanding her tears and pleadings, I continued my social 
drinking, often returning home intoxicated. The habit of drink 
was gradually established, and all the. ambitions and vital forces 



Sam P. Jones. 49 

of my life were being undermined by the fearful appetite, which 
was stronger than the tears of my wife, the advice of my friends 
and the dictates of my own better judgment. 

"My faithful wife, with a courage born of despair, with a strong 
faith in God and with a bright hope for better days, clung to me in 
the darkest hours of our married life, and never ceased her efforts 
or surrendered her faith in the promises of God until the day had 
dawned, and she realized that God is not slack concerning His 
promises. Though her tears and prayers often moved me, and 
though I promised time and again to give up drink, yet in spite 
of myself and every effort to stop me, I continued in my dissipated 
life until the month of August, 1872." 



v 



Sj 



CHAPTER IV. 



His Conversion and First Sermon. 

This was the period of Mr. Jones's life when he temporarily 
reformed and lived sober for eighteen months. Then he went with 
some of the citizens of our town on the first excursion that was run 
over the new railroad to Roekmart, and they persuaded him to 
drink wine with them. This caused him to return to his former 
habits, and for about six weeks he continued to drink, until he was 
brought face to face with his dying father. 

His father was sick for several weeks, and it was the custom of 
the ministers to call and have prayers with him. Mr. Jones would 
attend these prayer services around his father's bedside. As the end 
came nearer, Captain Jones would tell of the presence of the Lord, 
and speak in such a way as to make every one feel that God was 
really present. He would take his friends by the hand and in a cool, 
calm, delightful way say, "This little home that God has given me 
for my wife and children is filled with the glory of the Lord. 
I am physically very weak, but spiritually I am strong. When 
every other prop fails me, then Jesus Christ stands firm." 

Just before the end came, he turned to each member of his family 
and spoke a parting word. Mr. Jones was standing at the foot of the 
bed, looking down into his father's face. When his father came to 
him for a moment he was speechless, while looking into his son's 
face. Finally he said: "My poor, wicked, wayward, reckless boy. 
You have broken the heart of your sweet wife and brought me 
down in sorrow to my grave; promise me, my boy, to meet me in 
heaven." Standing there, convulsed with emotion from head to 
foot, he stepped around to the side of the bed and took his father's 
bony hand in his and said : "Father, I'll make you the promise, I'll 

(50) 



Sam P. Jonss. 51 

quit! I'll quit! I'll quit!" He said it in such a way that his dying 
father had every assurance that he meant it. A change was seen 
in his father's countenance, and the pledge from his boy, he be- 
lieved, meant the reformation of his life. 

Then and there Mr. Jones burned the bridges behind him, and 
walked away from the dying couch determined to live for the 
right. In after years, including some of his last utterances in Okla- 
homa City, Mr. Jones said : "Thank God, I can say every wilful 
step of my life since that moment has been towards the redemption 
of that promise." 

When Mr. Jones turned from the bedside of his dying father .he 
was groping in darkness and in search of Jesus Christ the Savior 
of sinners. While the promise he made his father was a step 
toward salvation, and helped to bring about a speedy reformation, 
he was not entirely assured of his acceptance with God. After his 
father's death he went down to the home of his grandfather, Rev. 
Samuel G. Jones, on Saturday, and spent the Sabbath. That morn- 
ing his grandfather preached at Moore's Chapel. Mr. Jones was 
under deepest conviction, and at the close of the sermon he walked 
forward and gave his grandfather his hand, asking for the prayers 
of God's people. 

His conviction became deeper each day, and he saw his sins as 
never before. While under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he had 
a glimpse of the cross. As Paul said, "The cross was a stumbling 
block to the Jew, and foolishness to the Greek" ; so it was with him 
until the light of the Holy Spirit flooded his soul. Mr. Jones has 
described his own experience in this illustration : 

"I have walked out in the mountainous regions of my own State 
an hour before daybreak : I have stood on the porch of some country 
home and looked at the hills and valleys around me ; they presented 
but the dim outline of something that I could not appreciate, I could 
not fully see. I go back into that dwelling, and in three hours 
more I walk out again on the front porch. The sun has risen on the 
scene and bathed the mountains and valleys in a sea of light, and 
now I look and beauties and splendors that never met my eye before 
face me on every side. The light of the sun shows me the beauties 



52 Sam P. Jones. 

of the world and helps me to understand largely its mysteries. 
Brethren, I saw the cross erected, God's only begotten Son, the vic- 
tim, suspended ; he suffered ; he died ; and yet I saw but the dim out- 
lines of something — I could not catch it in its fullness ; I could not 
take it in in all its beauty; and then the Divine Spirit rose on the 
scene and bathed the cross in a sea of light. 

'I saw one hanging on a tree, 

In agonies and blood, 
Who fixed his languid eyes on me, 

As near his cross I stood. 

'Sure, never to my latest breath 

Can I forget that look; 
It seemed to charge me with his death, 

Though not a word he spoke. 

'My conscience felt and owned the guilt, 
And plunged me in despair; 
I saw my sins his blood had spilt, 
And helped to nail him there. 

'A second look he gave, which said : 

"I freely all forgive ; 
This blood is for thy ransom paid; 

I die that thou mayst live.' " 

The revival in which Mr. Jones was converted was held at Fel- 
ton's Chapel. This was one of the regular appointments on his 
grandfather's circuit. Sunday morning we went out to the service, 
and at the close of the sermon grandfather Jones opened the doors 
of the church, and to my astonishment, Mr. Jones arose and walked 
up and joined the church. In speaking of that gracious hour, Mr. 
Jones says : 

"I never shall forget the day when I walked up in the little old 
church in Bartow county, with the only fear in my heart that I 



Sam P. Jonss. 53 

would not be received into the church. That day the man of 
Cod, my grandfather, stood up and preached, and when he 
opened the doors of the church I sat back in the audience 
and listened, and fear again came to me that I would not be re- 
ceived, my condition was so apparently hopeless, my life and habits 
had been so dissolute and so well known. Again I soon had the im- 
pulse to go forward, and then an overpowering something said, 'No, 
you are too weak and afraid;' and so it was until they had sung 
one, two and three verses of the good old hymn, and it looked like I 
would fail, but directly I got a new strength, and I said to myself : 



'I can but perish if I go; 

I am resolved to try; 
For if I stay away I know 

I must forever die/ 



"And in that little country church, with my dear old grandfather 
preaching the sermon, I went and gave myself to God. I went for- 
ward and took his hand and looked up into his face and said: 
"Grandfather, I take this step to-day ; I give myself, my heart and 
life, what is left of it, all to God and to His cause/ He took me 
and pulled me up and laid my head on his bosom, and wept like a 
child, and said brokenly : 'God bless you, my boy, and may you be 
faithful unto death.' And they received me into the church. And 
I want to tell you, my neighbor, whatever else may be said, living 
or dying, I was a reformed and changed man from that hour." 

For a week or more he had been very sad and depressed. I did 
not understand his condition. However, on our way home he said : 
"I can't tell you just how I've felt the past week; I have been seek- 
ing forgiveness for my sins. God has pardoned me. I shall not 
drink any more. I am done with it. I have told you many times 
that I have reformed my life, but you have a sober husband now. 
It is now true." 

As soon as the great change took place, he felt impressed that he 
should preach. He did not know whence this impression came. He 
sought the advice and counsel of several preachers, with this reply 



54 Sam P. Jones. 

in substance from each : "You are called to preach ; you can come 
willingly into it, or you can be whipped into it, or you will lose your 
religion, if you refuse." The last point was always the most pow- 
erful argument to him. He said he felt as did Gideon Ousnley, 
when the voice said, "Gideon, go and preach the gospel." "How 
can I preach, O Lord ; I can not speak, for I am a child." But when 
his mind was fully satisfied that he should enter the ministry, he 
began immediately to tell how the Lord had saved him. He spoke 
as only a man can who knew the full saving power of his Lord and 
Savior. 

But, like Gideon Ousnley, again, he had discovered the disease 
and found the remedy, and this gives the physician complete control 
over the patient, so he took his Bible and went from his knees to the 
pulpit with the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon him, and with an 
earnest desire for the salvation of lost souls. While he had no the- 
ological training, he was prepared to preach to sinners, because of 
the anointing that God had given him. In after-years, in speaking 
of theological seminaries, he said "that he wouldn't give a Georgia 
circuit, a pony and a Bible for all the 'theological cemeteries' in the 
world." 

He preached his first sermon one week after his conversion at 
the old New Hope church, two miles from Cartersville, his home. 
In the afternoon grandfather Jones told him that he would have to 
preach that night. We rode out to the church in a wagon, the party 
consisting of Mr. Jones, myself and our little child. Mr. Jones had 
not been licensed to preach. 

Grandfather said: "I will go your security until conference 
meets." So Mr. Jones agreed to preach for him. He was encour- 
aged further by his grandfather saying : "If God has called you to 
preach, you can preach; come into the pulpit." The church was 
crowded with earnest Christians, who were in deepest sympathy 
with him and supported him with their prayers, while there were 
many of his old companions and others who were there through 
mere curiosity. 

With much anxiety and fear, he took his place in the pulpit. 
After the singing and prayer he arose and announced his text from 



Sam P. Jones. 55 

the first chapter of Romans and the sixteenth verse : "For I am not 
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto 
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to 
the Greek." 

As he looked over the congregation, he realized that every one 
present knew him. They knew his past ; they had seen him only as 
a wild, dissipated young man. He didn't assume any pulpit manner 
or attitude, nor did he attempt any analysis of his text, or give any 
attention to its unfolding, but began to tell his experience of the sal- 
vation that had come to him. God had saved him, and he was not 
ashamed to proclaim it to the world. His deep earnestness and evi- 
dent sincerity, and the power of the Holy Spirit upon him immedi- 
ately got hold of the hearts and minds of the audience. As Mr. 
Jones said, before he proceeded far into the text, he adopted the 
plan of the good old Methodist preacher who got into the bushes and 
closed his Bible, saying: "Brethren, I can not preach the text, but 
I can tell my experience in spite of the devil." Out of his heart full 
of love to God and to men, he told of the great things that God 
had done for him. 

Mr. Jones said he remembered only two things of this his first 
sermon. One was "God is good," and the other, "I am happy." 

The Holy Spirit was present to bear testimony and many were 
melted to tears and deeply moved to a better life. 

At the close of his earnest exhortation, he extended an invitation 
to penitents, and many rushed to the altar and were happily con- 
verted to God. 

At the close of the service his friends took him by the hand and 
assured him of their prayers and bade him God-speed in the great 
work that he had undertaken. His grandfather threw his arms 
around him, saying, "My boy, you are called to preach, God will be 
with you." 

Mr. Jones occasionally went with his grandfather as he preached 
at the churches on his circuit. He had fully made up his mind to 
join the North Georgia Conference, which was to meet in Atlanta 
in about three months. At the quarterly conference at Moore's 
Chapel he was licensed to preach, and was recommended to the an- 



56 Sam P. Jones. 

nual conference. His grandfather in presenting him as a candidate 
for local preacher's license and recommendation to the conference, 
said: "You have heard my grandson preach; you have seen the 
results that have followed his preaching; he wants to devote his 
life to the ministry, if you believe that he is called of God to this 
work, give him the authority of the church to preach." The con- 
ference unanimously voted to license and recommend him to the 
next annual conference. 




;'■-.. ..-:-: . 






m .. m 




CHAPTER V. 



His First Work in the Conference;. 

The time between his conversion and the meeting of the an- 
nual conference was spent in earnest prayer, deep meditation and 
constant Bible study. Here he laid the foundation for his great 
ministry. He learned the secret and art of prayer. He learned the 
blessedness and strength of meditation. He stored his mind with 
God's Holy Word, and became charged with its peculiar power. His 
wonderful memory retained the Scriptures that he learned in those 
early days, which served him to his last hours. He had a wonderful 
knowledge of the Bible, and Scripture was ever fresh in his mind. 
Some of the most beautiful and striking illustrations that Mr. 
Jones used in his preaching were taken from the Bible. His delin- 
eations of Bible characters were the most effective of any illustra- 
tions he used. 

His consecration was deepened day by day, and he was so happy 
at the thought of preaching that he lost sight of everything else. 
While I was happy because of his conversion, and his friends were 
delighted at the stand that he had taken, it was not clear in my 
mind that it was the best thing for him to join the conference and 
take up the regular work of the ministry. I was anxious for him 
to be a local preacher, but was slow in giving my consent for him to 
enter the itinerancy. However, God saw differently, and following 
the leadings of the Holy Spirit, Mr. Jones arranged to go to At- 
lanta in the fall of 1872 and join the North Georgia Annual Con- 
ference. 

He frequently related a little experience we had when I opposed 
;his joining the conference. He said: 

"I was called to preach the week I was converted. I made up my 
:mind at once, and I went to my wife and told her I was going to 

Cs7) 



58 Sam P. Jones. 

join the North Georgia Conference ; and she said : ''Look here, Mr. 
Jones, when I married you I married a lawyer, and I'll never be an 
itinerant Methodist preacher's wife in this world, never! So, if 
you join the North Georgia Conference, you'll go without me/ 
'But, wife,' I said, 'the Lord has called me to preach the gospel, 
and he'll remove obstacles from my way.' 'Well,' said she, 'He'll 
have to remove me, then.' 

"That looked pretty hard, now didn't it? But I had my mind 
made up; I did not have any trouble about that. I just said, I'll 
join the North Georgia Conference, and preach in it, if my wife 
never speaks to me again. I thought maybe she'd change her 
mind; but, bless your life, she grew firmer; and the time for the 
conference approached, and she didn't relent. At last, the night 
before I was to leave home came, my wife and I talked long and 
earnestly; and finally she said, 'Husband, as sure as you take the 
train for Atlanta in the morning, I'll take the northbound train for 
my father's.' And I said, 'Wife, my mind is made up, and I'll 
join the conference and preach the gospel if I have to go traveling 
about all over the country a grass widower.' 

"Well, I was a good while getting to sleep that night, but I went 
to sleep after awhile ; and sometime in the night my wife called me, 
and she was suffering. I don't know what was the matter with 
her. I got up and gave her something and she got better. In the 
morning at six wife waked me, standing by the bed with the lamp, 
and said: 'Husband, get up and get ready; train will soon be here.' 
And I looked in her face and said : 'Wife, what's come over the 
spirit of your dreams? What does this mean?' She said, 'Never 
mind, you get up and get ready, and I'll tell you after awhile/ 
At breakfast she said : 'You know when I called you in the night ? 
You remember I said that if the Lord made you an itinerant preach- 
er, He'd have to remove me; well, just then when I called you , I was 
in the very agonies of death, and I just cried out, 'Lord, save my life 
and I'll make the very best itinerant preacher's wife I can.' And 
she's done it, too; every bit of it, for thirteen years now." 

In making preparation for the examination of applicants for 
membership in the conference, Mr. Jones pursued the course of 



Sam P. Jones. 59 

study prescribed by the bishops of the M. E. Church, South. Rev. 
Ceo. R. Cramer was his pastor and spiritual instructor at that time. 
He assisted him very much in preparing for the examination. 

When the North Georgia Conference convened in Atlanta No- 
vember 27, 1872, he was received as a traveling preacher. He gave 
himself with all his redeemed powers to the life and work of an 
itinerant Methodist preacher. In making the appointments he was 
put down for the Van Wert circuit. This was the poorest circuit in 
the Conference.. While there were wealthy and influential churches 
assigned to many of the distinguished preachers, who went away 
happy because of their appointments, no man left the Conference 
happier than Mr. Jones, and he never paused long enough to in- 
quire about his appointment. He was one of the happiest men that 
ever received a circuit at the hand of a bishop. His heart fairly 
leaped for joy, and he shouted, "Thank God, I now have a place to 
work for Christ." 

Leaving conference for his home in Cartersville, in the most ex- 
uberant spirits, a good old brother came up and shook hands with 
him, saying: "Brother Jones, do you know what that circuit paid its 
pastor last year?" He replied, "No, I had not thought of that." 
"Well," said he, "it paid the preacher for his entire year's work 
sixty-five dollars." Mr. Jones laughed and said : "I don't care what 
they paid or didn't pay, I have a place to preach now, and I am going 
to it happy." 

The circuit was located twenty-two miles from our home in Car- 
tersville. He went down and looked over the field before taking 
his family. The brethren were kind in a way, and yet, as he said, 
"Burns was right when he wrote : 

'A man may take a neighbor's part 
Yet have no cash to spare him.' " 

But he was not discouraged. He had been reared in a Meth- 
odist home, and an itinerant preacher's life had been pictured to him 
as one of hardships and privations. There was no parsonage, and 
the stewards were not enthusiastic over renting and furnishing a 
house for him and his wife and child ; and finally they suggested to 



60 Sam P. Jonss. 

him a house that might be rented, but said nothing about paying the 
rent, or becoming responsible for it. Instead of following the Meth- 
odist rule to arrange for the preacher's home, they would not be re- 
sponsible for it in any way. Many a minister with less courage 
than he possessed would have become disheartened and gone back 
to his profession, but instead of that he rented a house and gave his 
individual notes, twelve in number, each one amounting to ten dol- 
lars, to be paid monthly for the rent of the house for the coming 
year. The rent amounted to fifty-five dollars more than the entire 
salary received by the preacher the previous year. Two weeks later 
he moved his family to this house, in the town of old Van Wert. 

While Mr. Jones had a good law library, his ministerial library 
was very small. He had just three books as he entered upon his first 
appointment. One of them was the Bible — this was the dearest of 
them all. No man ever loved the Old Book more than he. In one 
of the last sermons that he preached he placed the Bible to his 
heart and said: 

" 'This precious book I'd rather own 

Than all the golden gems 
That e'er in monarch's coffers shone, 

Or on their diadems. 
And were the seas one chrysolite, 

This earth a golden ball ; 
And gems were all the stars of night, 

This book were worth them all. 

" 'Ah, no, the soul ne'er found relief 

In glittering hoards of wealth; 
Gems dazzle not the eye of grief, 

Gold can not purchase health. 
But here a blessed balm appears, 

For every human woe; 
And they that seek this book in tears 

Their tears shall cease to flow.* 



Sam P. Jonks. 61 

"Some men do not love God's Holy Book, and all that they care 
for is to criticise and ridicule its precious teachings ; but, oh, I love- 
it, and I want you all to love it. Yes, I do love it, and it makes my 
heart fairly shout with gladness to think that my darling mother 
loved it, too, and pressed it to her bosom, saying : 

" 'Holy Bible, book divine, 

Precious treasure, thou art mine/ 

"This old book that has lain on your table all your lives ; that has 
been in your pathway; that is a part of your household, is filled 
with the wisdom of God. Oh, this blessed Book and its blessed' 
consolation." 

Another was the fifth volume of Spurgeon's sermons. This he 
read and reread until his soul was stirred with the spirit of the great 
English preacher. He always claimed that he owed much to that 
volume. He would frequently read one of Spurgeon's texts and 
see how he treated it, and then would ask how he should treat his. 

The other book was a volume of Skeletons of Sermons. Some 
one is always ready to hand such a volume to young preachers. 
Some young preachers have been able to use the skeletons, but 
these did not appeal to Mr. Jones. No one while listening to him 
preach would believe that such a volume had made much impres- 
sion upon his mind. Not for a moment did he ever follow such 
plans in his sermonizing. His sermons were built and constructed 
very much like his mind. He spoke out of the fullness of his intel- 
lect and heart, and his style of sermon making was always peculiar 
to himself. 

Mr. Jones began his ministry as an exhorter in his grandfather's 
meetings, and some of his sermons for the first few years of his 
ministry were nothing more than earnest exhortations, but whether 
he preached or exhorted, he was always in earnest, and the people 
were profoundly impressed with what he said. He firmly believed 
that poor sermons and earnest exhortations, with the spirit of sym- 
pathy and zeal behind them, were more healthful and fruitful than 
the most powerful logic and finished rhetoric without the spirit of 
earnestness. He said, "Earnestness can not be feigned. It is just 



62 Sam P. Jonss. 

like the natural and healthful glow on a maiden's cheek compared to 
the artificial coloring. Earnestness can always be distinguished 
from emotional gush or bellowing hurrahism. Earnestness is a 
thing of the eye and face more than of the voice or the words." 

Among the greatest compliments ever paid him, and one of those 
that pleased him the most, was that when people would say, "I^et 
us go and hear him ; he is in earnest ; he is an earnest preacher." 

The greatest compliment, and the one that he appreciated the 
most, was that of a little boy on his first circuit. He was just 
finishing up the year's work, and was getting ready to go to con- 
ference. The little boy said to his father : "I want Brother Jones to 
come back to our church. I can understand everything that he 
preaches." To him simplicity and earnestness were two of the most 
commendable elements in a minister of the gospel. With Mr. Jones 
a multitude of other faults would be overlooked if he saw the min- 
ister was plain and simple in his preaching, and had his heart in 
what he was saying. 

With him the earnestness of the pulpit was born of his experience 
of conscious pardon and complete deliverance from sin. The gos- 
pel had done so much for him that he saw what it could do for 
others, and led him to press the gospel claims with pleading tones 
upon the consciences of those who heard him. There are many 
men who preach the truth, but they lack the earnestness which 
helped to give his messages such efficiency. 

At the time of his entering the ministry the devil had not only 
bankrupted him morally, but financially. The money he had made 
in the practice of law had been squandered through dissipation. 
Everything that he had in Cartersville that would bring any money 
he sold and paid his debts as far as possible. 

In speaking of those trying days he said : "When I first started to 
preaching I had a wife and one child, a bobtail pony and 
eight dollars in cash. [In after-years, when urging the ministers 
to tell the people the whole truth, regardless of who it hurt, he said : 
"Why, what can they do to you Methodist ministers, anyway? 
Nothing but move you, and it's no trouble for a Methodist preacher 
to move. All he has to do is to pack his blacking-brush and call his 



Sam P. Jones. 63 

dog/'] Besides this, I was several hundred dollars in debt. I worked 
on as hard as a man could, my good wife ever at my side helping 
me. I would work on the farm when I was not preaching and make 
a few bales of cotton, carry them to town, sell them, and apply the 
money on my debts. I could hear people say: 'Well, I like 
Jones, but somehow he don't pay his debts,' and they kept at me in 
this way until I was nearly crazy. During all this time, I was work- 
ing myself to death almost, and paying a few dollars at a time on 
what I owed, until at last I paid it dollar for dollar. How the un- 
kind and uncharitable remarks did sting me to the quick. What- 
ever people do, they ought never to say anything bad about a man 
when he is trying his level best to do right. My wife's health was 
completely broken down by the hard work of those years, when I 
was struggling to get a foothold in the world. However, I paid the 
last dollar, and I lived to see the day when I endorsed notes for 
those who used to 'cuss' me for not paying my debts, and when they 
fell down on me, I walked up and paid their debts like a little man. 
The meanest men in this world are those old money-sharks who get 
a man in their power, push him to the wall, and then squeeze him 
to death." 

He entered upon his work with a strong faith in God and in his 
people, believing that if he would do his duty he should not want 
any good thing. He made his first round of the circuit ; returning 
home he was very much pleased with the prospect and the progress 
of his work. The people opened their eyes when they heard their 
new preacher, and immediately fell in love with him. After they 
thoroughly understood Mr. Jones, and his work began to prosper, 
they were unusually kind to me, and those first years were very 
blessed ones in many respects. 

The congregations increased wherever he preached. New life and 
zeal entered into the services, and the old circuit took on new life. 
The churches were greatly revived; the backsliders were reclaimed 
and sinners converted at the regular services. Finally, great re- 
vivals broke out all over the charge, and each church was visited by 
a gracious awakening. His compensation for his first year amount- 
ed to seven hundred dollars; six hundred and thirty-five dollars 



64 Sam P. Jones. 

more than they paid the previous year. They requested that he be 
returned to them, and he spent three very profitable years on that 
circuit, the salary for the three years' work being two thousand one 
hundred dollars. This was not all in money, but a great deal of it 
was in corn, wheat, hay, and fodder. Some of it was paid in meat, 
chickens, eggs, and butter. 

In his early ministry he was thrown with his people a great deal, 
and his keen insight into human nature and his close observation 
of every-day life revealed a great many shams and frauds to him. 
He always had an inborn, constitutional hatred for shams, and es- 
pecially religious shams. Life and truth were absolutely real to him. 
Heaven and hell were realities, and he didn't see how a man could 
be a fraud or a hypocrite without first getting out of line with God 
and truth, and if they didn't repent, they would go to hell, and that 
the devil would make real fiends of religious frauds before he 
would receive them. He had such a high sense of honor he could 
not help from having intense hatred for shams and pretense. He 
was compelled to strike a terrific blow which would reduce them 
to atoms. 

He never feared higher criticism and infidelity in a theoretical 
sense, but was afraid of practical infidelity, as he saw it lived and 
practiced by his church members. He used to say he would rather 
be Bob Ingersoll and disbelieve the Bible than to be a professing 
Christian believing everything, and living just like Ingersoll. After 
he thoroughly understood his people, he was seized with the convic- 
tion that there was either two kinds of Christianity, or else the ma- 
jority of his people had religion, and that he did not have it, or, he 
had it and they didn't. In his own heart since God saved him, there 
had been no room for prayerlessness and indifference towards God's 
work, yet he found his people indifferent, careless, and prayerless. 
These were perplexing problems to him, and he spent hours in 
prayer and meditation, trying to decide his duty towards his people. 
The struggle that was going on in his heart was whether he should 
preach to his people just as he thought about them. Finally, he de- 
cided to do that, and with a matchless courage he talked to them 
about their inconsistencies. His courage and earnestness gave him 



Sam P. JonivS. 65 

wonderful power over the situation. Mr. Jones not only had the 
courage of his convictions, but he had the courage to have convic- 
tions. So many men fail to have the courage to have convictions. 
This he settled once for all while studying his people. It was no 
wonder that such apostolic results followed his preaching on his 
first circuit. 

Mr. Jones's style of preaching on his first circuit was character- 
istic of his preaching until the day of his death. Some of his great- 
est sermons were made the first few years he preached. Perhaps, 
his greatest sermon was from the text, "What I have written, I have 
written." John 19 '.22. His subject being, "Conscience, Record, 
and God." While he gathered a great many new illustrations from 
his travels and picked up incidents in his meetings that took the place 
of some illustrations of those earliest sermons, still, the outline of 
the sermon was changed very little. He always had results from 
his preaching. Usually, people were converted and joined the 
church in great numbers, but if he went to his appointment and no 
one was converted and came into the church in the usual way, he 
decided that his members were not living right, as he believed 
conversions would follow when the church was living up to its 
privilege. Therefore, at times, instead of opening the "front doors" 
of the church, as he expressed it, he would open the "back doors," 
and ask those who were unwilling to live up to the rules and regula- 
tions of the church to come forward, and have their names erased 
from the roll, and retire through the "back doors" of the church. 
This unique way of dealing with his members frequently brought 
them to themselves, and resulted in their consecration and future 
activity. He was always equal to the emergency from the very 
beginning of his work as a minister. 

His support at times was irregular on his first circuit. When the 
stewards failed to bring around the quarterage, and the provisions 
gave out, and feed for his horse was exhausted, he would hitch up 
his horse, and take me and the children and go to the home of some 
of our members and spend a day with them. On one occasion he 
went to the home of a leading member, and sent us in with the lady 
of the house, while hitching his horse. When asked if the head of 



66 Sam P. Jones. 

the family was at. home, he was told that he had gone away for the 
day, and perhaps would not return before night. "Well," replied 
Mr. Jones, "that's all right, as we shall spend a day or two with you; 
he will return before we leave, and we will get to see him. We have 
decided as we can not get our grub raw, that we will take it cooked,, 
and will spend some time at your home." 

At another time when the provisions had been exhausted, and I 
was in the kitchen wondering where our next meal would come 
from, he was at the woodpile chopping the stovewood, and whis- 
tling, and when I went out on the back porch and said, "Husband, 
what's the use of cutting the wood when there is nothing to cook?" 
he replied, "Well, wife, the Lord will provide." It wasn't long then 
until a wagon stopped in front of the parsonage loaded down with 
provisions, and when they were brought in, we had as much, if not 
more, than our home had ever had before. His faith in God to sup- 
ply our physical necessaries never wavered in our direst poverty. 

On his first circuit, there was a very amusing incident hap- 
pened. One of our wealthiest members was taken seriously ill, and 
thought that he was going to die. He sent for his pastor to come 
around and pray with him. Mr. Jones called upon him, and when 
entering the sick-chamber, the member said, 'I have sent for you to 
pray for me." "Well," said Mr. Jones, "I don't see any good reason 
for asking the Lord to heal you. If you can tell me any reason why 
you should live, I'll pray for you ; so far as I know, you have never 
done anything for the Lord that I can stand upon, while, praying. 
You have paid absolutely nothing to the assessments of the church; 
none of the missionary money for home or foreign cause has been 
paid by you; the stewards can't get anything out of you towards 
my salary; wife, children and myself have needed the necessaries 
of life, and my horse has had nothing much to eat, and you have an 
abundance of everything here in your home, and feed in your barn, 
and could have helped us ; therefore, I don't see anything to stand 
upon. There is no use in my asking God to restore you ; I can ask 
Him to forgive and save you, and take you to heaven ; but, there is 
no reason why I should ask Him to preserve your life; as you are 
absolutely worthless to the cause." "Well," he replied, "you are 



Sam P. Jones. 67 

light. There is no reason why I should live, but I will make you a 
promise if you can stand upon that." "Very well," replied Mr. Jones, 
"what is the promise?" He said, "I will see that my assessment is 
paid in full, and that you have the things that you need for your ta- 
ble and horse." Mr. Jones knelt down and told the Lord about the 
man's promise, saying in his prayer : "Lord, you know all about him ; 
he may deceive me, but he can't deceive you, and if he is going to 
change his way, stand by your work, forgive him, heal him, and 
save him." It wasn't long until the man fully recovered, and one 
day a wagon turned into the street just in sight of the parsonage. 
A crowd of men sitting on the front porch of the store, in the town, 
said: "Whose team is that?" Some one answered, "That's Mr. 

; he is sending a load of corn to the parsonage." Another 

one remarked: "Mr. will have to get nearer the other 

world than he was, before he would turn loose a load of corn to the 
preacher." A colored man was hailed by one of them, who asked : 

"Whose team is that?" The old negro said : "That's Mr. ." 

"Where is that load of corn going?" The old darkey replied, "To 

preacher Jones." "How much does Mr. get for that corn?" 

The old colored man said, "Why, God bless you, boss, Mr. 

has done give that corn to that preacher." 

The brother had paid his vow, and was one of Mr. Jones's warm 
est friends and supporters during his stay on that circuit. 

Perhaps as a summary of the results of those years on his first 
circuit, and the general impression made upon every one has been 
told as fully by a minister who was on the adjoining circuit and 
who followed Mr. Jones on the Van Wert circuit. Rev. J. W. Lee, 
D.D., now pastor of Trinity church, Atlanta, Ga., says : 

"The first circuit to which I was sent after joining the conference 
in the fall of 1874 was the Floyd, adjoining the Van Wert. During 
the year 1875 I saw a great deal of Sam Jones. In 1876 I succeeded 
him on the Van Wert circuit, and there I heard more of him than of 
any preacher I have ever followed since. Every one had something 
wonderful to relate either about his sermons or about himself. The 
Van Wert circuit was made up of five churches, and these were in 
parts of four counties, Polk, Bartow, Paulding and Floyd. From 



68 Sam P. Jonss. 

all I could hear this entire territory was in a state of constant ex- 
citement throughout the three years Sam Jones served. He was 
just as bright and as full of life then as he was afterward known by 
the whole country to be. Think of Sam Jones confined to sections 
of four counties with fire and force and overflowing humor enough 
to fill the whole United States. People will not be surprised, when 
they think of this, that his ministry was the theme of conversation in 
every home in my circuit. He had magnetized everybody. Bap- 
tists, Presbyterians, as w T ell as Methodists, grew eloquent when they 
began to talk about Sam Jones. If I could put down in black and 
white all I heard of him on the Van Wert circuit in 1876, the record 
would make several books. He touched the people not only from 
the pulpit, from the home, and on the street, but wherever he met 
them. Every man, woman, and child was made the subject of his 
humor. He saw something ridiculous in every situation. From 
the time he entered a home until he left it, the whole house was kept 
in an uproar. No one could escape the lightning-flashes of his kindly 
wit. Even the old grandmother in the corner, too feeble to get 
about, found herself laughing at herself, as Sam Jones pointed out 
something absurd or droll in the connection with her attempt to 
look younger than she really was or something else about herself 
she had never heard of or dreamed of before. The head of the 
house was represented before his wife and children in a way to 
make the whole family shake with laughter. Then, after he had 
paid his respects to the father, he would take the mother as a sub- 
ject, and then one child after another clear down to the baby in arms. 
All this running fire of fun was continued in the midst of cross- 
turns about duty to God, and religion, that made every member of 
the household cry when he was not almost splitting his sides with 
laughter." 

It is very evident from the words of Dr. Lee that Mr. Jones pos- 
sessed in the beginning of his ministry the peculiarities and qualities 
that were developed, in the highest sense, the longer he lived, mak- 
ing him the most unique and marvelous evangelist that the world 
has ever known. He began to be the talk of the ministry, and there 
was no little jealousy aroused in the hearts of some of his brother 
ministers. 



Sam P. Jonss. 69 

However, he went about his own business and was always too 
magnanimous to entertain an envious or jealous thought of a brother 
minister, but the good and faithful preachers detected this in others, 
and one of them under the title of "A" Glaring Fault of Good Men" 
wrote the following letter to the Advocate regarding Methodist 
preachers. Mr. Jones is referred to in the letter as "Brother A.," 
"who gave us a fine sermon, but borrowed it from Spurgeon" : 

"Four years of intimate association with itinerant Methodist 
preachers have convinced me that for sociability, brotherly kindness, 
and true manhood, to say nothing of the deep piety, earnest lives 
and faithful work, which make many of them moral heroes — in- 
deed, they have no superiors on earth ; yet some of us are possessed' 
of an unhappy disposition, the moral aspect of which is bad enough. 
A disposition to criticise each other unjustly. 

"At a camp-meeting where many preachers were present and diet 
faithful work for the Master, Mr. Jones was complimented more 
highly than the others. At the close of the meeting the brethren 
went to the railroad station, and there discussed the success of the 
meeting and the merits of the sermons preached. One said : "We 
had some good preaching. Brother A." (referring to Mr. Jones) 
"gave us a fine sermon, but he borrowed from Spurgeon." 

From his earliest ministry he always, to a certain extent, aroused 
the jealousies of some of his brother ministers, and encountered op- 
position wherever he went. I never saw him, a single moment, when 
he was jealous of another man's success; but it always rejoiced his 
heart to see a brother minister succeed. He believed that it was a 
sure test of a man's sincerity and religion to be able to rejoice at 
the prosperity of the Lord's work in the hands of another. He so 
frequently said: "If the Presbyterians have a good meeting, the 
Baptists will attend, take a back seat, look on, and reply, 'The thing 
is too stiff, formal, and cold. The people are not being converted 
— merely joining the church.' The Presbyterians attend a meeting 
conducted by the Methodists, and you ask them if the Methodists 
haven't a big meeting going on ; they answer, 'Well, they are mak- 
ing a. great deal of fuss around there — it's all excitement, however, 
and soon will blow over — very little in it; however, they've got: 



70 Sam P. Jones. 

quite a stir among them/ Then the Methodists would attend a re- 
vival at the Baptist church, go late and take no part, and, when the 
people were converted, you ask a Methodist if the Baptists weren't 
having a big meeting, and he would reply, 'Well, it's mostly water 
— just talking water, water.' So you see," he would say, "it takes 
a lot of religion for a fellow to shout at another preacher's meeting." 
His soul was so free from such petty jealousy that he couldn't under- 
stand it in other people. However, he never bore any ill will to- 
wards those that were envious and jealous of him, but was always 
willing to befriend them and help them in any way. 

Mr. Jones completed the course of study and was admitted into 
full connection, and elected a deacon in December, 1874, at the an- 
nual conference, which met at our town, Cartersville. Bishop M. 
Wightman ordained him to this office. 

The first three years in the ministry spent on the Van Wert cir- 
cuit were among the most successful years of his life. While they 
did not afford the larger opportunities of later years, nevertheless, 
the work accomplished there was marvelous in its scope. They 
were, indeed, strenuous years, as he preached almost constantly, 
and must have delivered on an average of four hundred sermons a 
year. They were gracious years, in that he saw wonderful revivals, 
great increase in church membership, and the family altar erected 
in the homes of many of his leading members. Perhaps, the aggre- 
gate increase of membership on the circuit was not less than two 
hundred accessions each year, making in all five or six hundred 
people who joined the churches on his first circuit. The friendship 
formed and the mutual love of the pastor and people became strong- 
er as the years went by, and some of his warmest and staunchest 
friends are those who survive him on that circuit. The devotion 
of the people to their pastor was something remarkable, and Mr. 
Jones's great interest and love for them increased year by year. He 
was of such a genial and social nature that he made friends wherever 
he went, and it seemed to me that this people loved him with a de- 
votion as I have never known other men to be loved. These were 
three years of work and happiness and blessings in our own lives. 
He not only blessed others, but in turn we received great personal 



Sam P. Jones. 71 

blessings ourselves. It was during the first year on the Van Wert 
circuit, that I, without even a solicitation from my husband, made up 
my mind to go into his church with him, I having been a member 
of the Baptist church, This was a glad surprise for him, but I 
have always felt that it was a source of strength. Some of the 
happiest days of my life were spent with those noble people, and 
the memory of them will ever be sweet. 



i 



CHAPTER VI. 



Other Pastorates and Revivals. 

From the Van Wert circuit Mr. Jones was moved to the DeSoto 
circuit in Floyd county. There were nine churches on this work. 
While Mr. Jones had preached in a straightforward way on his pre- 
vious circuit, it was on the DeSoto mission that he began to preach 
his convictions with all the strength of his mind and heart. In 
speaking of the change, he said: "There is difference between 
preaching the truth and applying it to the hearers. A dissertation 
on mustard, where it grows, how it grows, and how it is prepared 
ior market is one thing, but that one thing does not help the colic. 
It is when you spread the mustard on a thin cloth and apply it to 
the stomach that the aches and pains of the agonizing patient are re- 
lieved. Abstract truth has influenced the mind to some extent, but 
it's the consecrated truth vigorously applied to the conscience that 
arouses the mind and produces the conviction which brings re- 
sults." On this circuit by the aid of the Holy Spirit he sought as 
never before to get the truths applied to the consciences of his hear- 
ers. As he said, "The more conscience that I awake, the more peo- 
ple will be converted; as you know it is the shoemaker who gives 
the best fit that has the most customers." He believed then that 
the people knew better than they did. He did not try to point out 
new paths of truth, but sought to inspire them to walk in the old 
ones. From that day his preaching was directed at the conscience. 
Soon his official board and church members were greatly agitated 
as to what the final outcome would be, but he continued his sermons 
at their sins, saying: "The consciences of men form a vast plane 
without an undulation from shore to shore, and he who preaches on 
a level like this will move, not only the common people, but the edu- 
cated and intellectual alike. The conscience of Daniel Webster is 

(72) 





, 



...-\,,-:- '. - .. ■ 



Sam P. Jonss. 73- 

on the same plane with the conscience of a farmer." This direct, 
pointed preaching soon resulted in the conversions of hundreds of 
people, and the quickening of every church on his circuit. While 
the official boards cried out against the change, however, admitting" 
that he was right, still they argued that he had a wife and children 
that must be supported, and that the people would not pay their as- 
sessments if he did not change his way of preaching. He replied 
that he could not, and would not stifle his conviction for any finan- 
cial consideration, or prospect for future promotion, but that he 
would preach the truth as he believed it, if the whole world turned 
against him. I remonstrated with him, telling him that he could be 
successful to a marked degree without such pointed preaching, and 
furthermore, I said, "Husband, we have to live by the ministry, and 
the people will not support you if you continue to preach as you do." 
He turned to me with a loving smile, and said : "Well, wife, if they 
do not pay us, and we starve to death, we will never tell them what. 
killed us, but will just say that we died with typhoid fever." 

A year afterward at a district conference, Mr. Jones referred ta 
the experiences of this time. It was while going through this great 
change that he was in the crucible in which he was tested. The 
refining fire had burned away all the self and had left the "vessels 
meet for the Master's use." Standing up before the conference^ 
when his circuit was called, in its order, for reports from the pastor, 
he told how he had gone to this charge where drinking, gambling 
and profanity were holding high carnival, and how indifferent, cold 
and sinful his members were, and that there was no interest mani- 
fested in religion, and that they wanted "women and children's re- 
ligion," and the male members would support him if he would just 
let them alone, but he saw that his conviction of duty would not per- 
mit him to yield to them, he said : "I preached against the sins of 
those people as I knew them to exist. I warned them of the dangers 
as I saw the dangers ; I called many sins by their right names, and 
told them they were guilty of those sins. With all my ransomed pow- 
ers I denounced their unholy living. But it seemed, brethren, that the 
combined powers of darkness had conspired to overthrow me. For 
weeks I preached, talked and exhorted, without a sign of hope. At 



74 Sam P. Jones. 

last, they began to desert me and refuse to support me. Finally, it 
came to the point of almost hunger in my home. One man, alone, 
stood by me. He was poor, but he was, and is, a hero. Going home 
one evening from my work, my wife said: 'Well, Sam, it seems 
like these people want to starve us out.' Brethren, it was surrender 
or starve, it semed to me. I walked out into the darkness. I went 
to the stable. My faithful old horse whinnied a welcome, and I went 
in, and, in that stable, I fell on my face before God and prayed for 
for light, for help, for direction. The answer came, 'Go forward !' 
I did. I went to my next appointment and announced protracted 
services. Single-handed, and alone, I went into my work, led by 
the Spirit, I assailed the strongholds of sin among my people ; I told 
them of their lost estate, and begged them to return. From the first 
service, the congregation grew larger. The unconverted and the 
backslider came together, and soon they were seeking pardon to- 
gether at the altar. The Holy Spirit was at work. One by one the 
last were redeemed, and, finally, as with a great awakening light, 
God's power came down. Old DeSoto circuit was ablaze of glory 
throughout its bounds, and one hundred family altars were burning, 
where not one burned before." Mr. Jones sat down. Some brother 
started the grand old song, "How firm a foundation, Ye saints of 
the Lord," which was taken up by the conference and sung amid the 
shouts and hallelujahs of God's people. The business of the con- 
ference was entirely side-tracked and a glorious wave of blessing 
swept over the people. 

After the great work on this circuit the people were willing to 
attend upon all the services of the church, so he made a request of 
them regarding the prayer-meeting. Said he : "I want you to 
promise me to attend the Wednesday evening prayer services, and if 
you don't come, to send me an excuse explaining why you were not 
there, and I will visit you and bring a doctor and look after the pa- 
tient." A great many of his most reliable members made the prom- 
ise. Then it was that they had a pretty good joke on the pastor. 

One night there was a fearful rain, and the wind was blowing 
hard. Mr. Jones said : "I won't go to prayer-meeting to-night ; no 
one will be at church this evening." We got comfortably seated 



Sam P. Jonks. 75 

around the fireside, and were reading and talking, when there was a 
knock at the door. Mr. Jones opened the door, and the porch was 
crowded with people. "What in the world does this mean?" in- 
quired Mr. Jones. They answered : "We have come to see what's 
the matter with our pastor. We have been to prayer-meeting, and 
as he didn't come, we brought a doctor to look after the patient." 
Mr. Jones took the reproof good-naturedly, and the prayer-meeting 
was conducted that night. 

A letter that Mr. Jones wrote to the Southern Christian Advocate 
from this circuit shows how deeply interested he was in all of the 
work of the church : 

"Mr. Editor: The Rome circuit has nine appointments, includ- 
ing DeSoto mission. We began this year with three hundred mem- 
bers, the circuit very much 'run down,' as the brethren expressed 
it, and its history for the past ten years fully justifies the expression. 

"In the early part of the year I tried to persuade every member of 
the church to be punctual upon the attendance of worship, and every 
head of a family to subscribe for the Southern Christian Advocate. 
I succeeded well in my first proposition, but received only about 
twenty-five subscribers to the Advocate (several were taking it). 
I wish more of the Rome district would subscribe for the Advocate; 
if so, the itinerant's pay would not be so slim. I never knew a Meth- 
odist to take and read the Advocate who did not pay his quarterage 
liberally. 

"I encourage my brethren to work, labor in the church, at home, 
in the vineyard of the Lord everywhere. The more I can get them 
to do, the lighter my labors are. Moody never told a 'bigger' truth 
than when he said, 'The successful preacher is he who can get the 
most work out of his members.' 

"We have had good Sunday-schools all the year, prayer-meetings, 
class-meetings, etc. The first of August we began our protracted 
meetings, and for ten weeks we have had glorious old-fashioned re- 
vivals. Every church has been blessed, and our membership has 
been increased to near five hundred. The work was genuine, and 
manifests itself in every father praying in his family (not ten heads 
of families excepted on the whole work), reading the Scriptures, 



76 Sam P. Jonss. 

.secret prayer, building new churches, ceiling, painting and putting 
stoves in old ones, etc. 

"Our missionary assessments, foreign and domestic, were paid 
by the first of May, in full. Our conference collection will exceed 
the assessment. The pastor and presiding elder will go to confer- 
ence without any claims against DeSoto circuit. All seem to be 
hopeful, buoyant and happy. 

"In conclusion, I will say that much more good might have been 
accomplished if we had fewer appointments. Nine churches for 
one preacher; like forty acres for one mule and man, will necessarily 
give the grass some chance to grow. 

"May I live and die among a people who love Jesus, then will it 
be well with me here. And may God give us all a home in heaven, 
where 'no ox is ever muzzled' and where the weary are at rest." 

At the close of the conference year of 1876, he was elected an 
elder, and Bishop George F. Pierce ordained him. 

It was on this circuit that he came in contact with that unique 
preacher, Rev. Simon Peter Richardson, who was his presiding 
elder. He was, at that time, the most powerful preacher, and at all 
times the most entertaining man that Mr. Jones ever met. He 
would throw out great nuggets of truth in pulpit and parlor that 
were food to Mr. Jones. He saw the great truths of the Bible more 
to Mr. Jones's idea than any man he ever heard preach. He was a 
father, brother and teacher to him. He received more help from 
him than all other preachers he ever came in contact with. It was 
from him that Mr. Jones learned that the pulpit was not a prison, 
but a throne ; that instead of bars and walls for the boundary lines 
he might have wings and space as an inheritance. Mr. Jones said 
that he remembered as well when his involuntary confinement ended, 
and liberty began, as any fact in his history, and, afterwards, he en- 
joyed the liberty, and never consulted the theological landmarks or 
visited the orthodox prisons again. The two years on the DeSoto 
circuit strengthened his conviction as to preaching, and he followed 
his convictions from that day, and never deviated from them a hair's 
breadth in after-years. We had some friends at that difficult time 
of our lives who were a tower of strength to him, and I may say, a 



Sam P. Jonss. 77 

wall of defense in a time of need. Mr. Jones never forgot them. 
The preacher stationed at the First church in Rome, Rev. W. H. 
LaPrade, and our presiding elder, Rev. Simon Peter Richardson, 
just the man, through God, to lead and guide Mr. Jones, helping him 
shape his future life by constantly encouraging him. 

From this work he was moved to the Newberne circuit in Newton 
county, Georgia. There he spent two very pleasant and successful 
years. He was more successful in building up his churches, and in 
converting the unsaved than any years of his pastoral life. This 
circuit had four churches, and it was possible for him to devote more 
time to them. One of the most striking incidents on that circuit 
happened at a country place where the unconverted people wanted 
preaching. It was somewhat of a fifth wheel to his circuit. He 
found only four members there ; a gentleman and his daughter, and 
a lady and her son, constituted the church. He began to inquire 
who lived in that neighborhood, saying that he would have to have 
a quorum before he. could get down to business. On Saturday be- 
fore the fifth Sunday in March he went to the home of one of the 
best farmers, who was a graduate of Emory College. His name 
was Gaither. Finding that he was not a member of any church, he 
said to him : "I haven't enough members in my little church to work 
with, and I want you to join to-morrow. ,, Mr. Gaither replied, "I 
can't join the church. I always said I never would until I got re- 
ligion." Mr. Jones said, "Would you know religion if you were to 
see it coming down the road" He laughed and said, "I suppose not. 
I swear, and drink sometimes, and I am not going to join the 
church and do like others have done." Mr. Jones said, "The very 
fact that you swear and drink is the reason that I want you to join 
the church ; you have sense and honor, and if you connect yourself 
with the church, you will quit cussing and drinking." His wife was 
a good, charitable woman, and read her Bible carefully and attended 
upon service regularly. Mr. Jones turned to her and said, "I want 
you to join the church with your husband." She replied, "I will 
never join the church until I am converted." He had a hard time 
with this man and his wife, and decided he had struck two of the 
hardest cases he had ever encountered. He went to the church and 



78 Sam P. Jones. 

preached, and at close of the sermon he opened the doors of the 
church, and they walked up and joined, with eleven others. Mr. 
Jones went back there on the fifth Sunday in July, to hold a three 
days' meeting. We spent Saturday night at his home, and his wife 
and I and little child drove to the church that night while Mr. Jones 
and he walked over the field to the church. It was a beautiful night, 
and the moon was shining brightly. One of the men who had joined 
the church with Air. Gaither was his brother-in-law, Watt Griffin, 
Mr. Jones turned to his host and said, speaking of this brother, 
"How is old Watt?" He replied, "He is doing his whole duty." 
Mr. Jones realizing that such a man would have to be constant in his 
religious life to succeed, said, "He couldn't be religious if he didn't." 
Whereupon Mr. Gaither remarked, "Can any man be religious who 
doesn't do his whole duty?" Mr. Jones said, "Well, I suppose not." 
Said Gaither, "I joined the church three months ago when you were 
here, and I haven't got any more religion (pointing toward us) than 
that old horse that is pulling our wives to the church. I haven't 
sworn or drank any, but I haven't done my duty, and I am willing to 
go to work if that will bring religion to me, so if you want me as 
a Sunday-school superintendent, appoint me; if you want to make 
a class-leader or a steward out of me, I will do my best. If you 
want me to pray, call on me — " then suddenly he exclaimed, "Glory 
to God, I've got it now, I've got it now !" and out there in the open 
field, with his mind made up to serve God, the Lord graciously saved 
him. He was always one of the most godly -and influential mem- 
bers at that little church. 

It was while on this circuit that he began to get invitiations ask- 
ing him to assist pastors in their revival work. He visited a great 
many of the small towns within the bounds of adjoining circuits, 
where there were many great and glorious revivals. One of them 
was at Thomson, Ga. His appearance in that town was so unlike 
the ministry of any one else that it was refreshing to both saint and 
sinner. The Honorable Tom Watson was a young lawyer in the 
town, and in after years he wrote his impressions of Mr. Jones and 
the revival. 

"In the good year 1877, Sam Jones lit down in this veritable town 



Sam P. Jones. 79 

of Thomson, and began to go for the devil and his angels in a man- 
ner which was entirely new to said devil ; also new to said angels. 

"Some one happened to remark in my hearing that there was a 
little preacher up at the Methodist church who was knocking the 
crockery around in a lively style, and who was dusting the jackets 
of the amen corner brethren, in a way which brought the double 
grunts out of those fuzzy fossils. 

"I was not ravenously fond of sermons. When I have heard the 
same commonplaces droned out in the same lifeless manner, it 
requires politeness to keep down yawns and nods. I did not yawn 
the day I went to hear Sam Jones. 

"There he was, clad in a little black jump-tail coat, and looking 
very little like the regulation preacher. He was not in the pulpit. 
He was right next to his crowd, standing within the railings, and 
almost in touch of the victims. His head was down, as if he was 
holding on to his chain of thought by the teeth, but his right hand 
was going energetically up and down, with all the grace of a pump- 
handle. And, how he did hammer the brethren. How he did peel 
the amen corner. How he did smash their solemn self-conceit, their 
profound self-satisfaction, their peaceful compartnership with the 
Almighty, their placid conviction that they were the trustees of the 
New Jerusalem! After awhile, with solemn, irresistible force he 
called on these brethren to rise in public, confess their shortcomings, 
and kneel for Divine grace. 

"And they knelt. With groans, and sobs, and tears, these old 
bellwethers of the flock fell on their knees and cried aloud in their 
distress? Then what? He turned his guns upon us sinners. He 
raked us fore and aft. He gave us grape and canister and all the 
rest. He abused us and ridiculed us ; he stormed at us and laughed 
at us ; he called us flop-eared hounds, beer kegs, and whisky soaks. 
He plainly said that we were all hypocrites and liars, and he inti- 
mated, somewhat broadly, that most of us would steal. 

"Oh, we had a time of it, I assure you. For six weeks the farms 
and the stores were neglected, and Jones! Jones! Jones! was the 
whole thing. 

"And the pleasantest feature of the entire display of human nature 



80 Sam P. Jonss. 

was the marked manner in which the c amen-corner brethren' en- 
joyed his flaying of us sinners. 

"Well, the meeting wound up, the community settled back into its 
old ways — but it has never been the same community since. Gam- 
bling disappeared, loud profanity on the streets was heard no more, 
and the barrooms were run out of the county." 



CHAPTER VII. 



Early Evangelistic Work and Last Pastorate. 

There were quite a number of towns with a population from one 
thousand to twenty-five hundred where Mr. Jones held meetings 
while on this circuit. He was at Madison, Crooked Creek, Central 
and other points. Perhaps the greatest one was at Eatonton.^ The 
pastor had been preaching faithfully against the saloons of the town, 
which had almost resulted in a division of the church.. Mr. Jones 
took up the fight, and one of the most marvelous results of the meet- 
ing was the closing up of the barrooms of Eatonton without an elec- 
tion. It was done with a petition to the county commissioners, large- 
ly signed by the citizens of Putnam county, requesting that the li- 
cense for saloons be raised to three thousand dollars. This the com- 
missioners did and closed all the saloons, except one. At the end of 
seven months the owner of this saloon proposed to close at the end 
of the eighth month if the people would pay him the one thousand 
dollars back that he had paid license for four months. The sub- 
scription list was opened at once and the one thousand dollars would 
have been raised in a half day, but the word that the saloon would 
close if the money was restored reached the county commissioners, 
who promptly notified the owner of the saloon that if he would sur- 
render his license they would pay the one thousand dollars he had 
paid. He surrendered his license, and the commissioners paid him 
the money. The commissioners then announced that the license 
would be raised to five thousand dollars, and if any one offered to 
take out a license it would be raised to ten thousand dollars. In other 
words, there was to be no more legal sales of liquor in Putnam 
county. On the last day of the eighth month the saloon was closed. 
All the bells of the churches were rung and the citizens gathered in 
the court-house yard in a thanksgiving service, which, after song 

4j (81) 



82 Sam P. Jones. 

and prayer, addresses were made by Judge W. F. Jenkins, Rev. M. 
J. Cofer, and several others. It was a memorable meeting, and "All 
hail the power of Jesus' name" was never more heartily sung. Put- 
nam county was thoroughly revolutionized. Since that day the 
question of saloons has never been discussed, and without ever vot- 
ing on the question, the county has been dry, and is without saloons 
to-day. 

From the Newberne circuit Mr. Jones was sent to the Monticello 
circuit in Jasper county. Here he spent the most successful year of 
his life as a pastor. The people of Monticello were among the no- 
blest in Georgia. Mr. Jones spent his time in faithful pastoral work, 
going from home to home, visiting and praying with his people. 
Wherever he went, he carried sunshine and joy, and was a great 
comfort in times of grief and sorrow. In the presence of sickness 
and death there never was a more gentle, tender and affectionate 
pastor. The way he would lift his heart to God in prayer for the 
sorrowing and bereaved always brought a blessing and a benediction 
to those in distress. He had gone through the deep waters himself, 
and always suffered with those who had lost a dear one of the home. 
After he had entered the evangelistic field, and had preached to the 
thousands throughout the United States, he would return to his 
home, and would take pleasure and delight in visiting the poor, 
sick, and sorrowing of our town. There was scarcely a home 
where sorrow had come but what he went, not as the world's great 
evangelist, but as an humble, prayerful minister of God, to spend a 
few hours with those whose sorrows he shared. He seemed to be 
hungry for the blessings and benedictions he would derive from 
these visits. There was something in them that he didn't find in ad- 
dressing the great multitudes in his meetings. 

In connection with his pastoral visits, he always thought of the 
Saviour's words : "I was an hungered, and ye fed me ; I was naked 
and ye clothed me ; I was sick and ye visited me ; inasmuch as ye 
did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it 
unto me," and then he would say to me, "That's enough." 

Mr. Jones said that when he began to preach that he was brought 
to see that to succeed as a preacher, he must either be a great think- 



Sam P. Jonss. 83 

er, or a great worker. Not appreciating his real ability as a thinker, 
he decided to give some time to earnest work. He had his doubts 
whether he could think above the plane where the masses stood, but 
he knew that under God he could mix and mingle with them, and by 
persistent work, influence them for good. 

During the years of his pastorate, for weeks and weeks he would 
preach three and four times a day, averaging about four hundred 
sermons a year. His good friends would tell him that he was work- 
ing himself to death, but he would laugh them off by saying that 
Whitfield said that when a physician told him he must stop working 
so much, that he must not preach more than four hours every day, 
and six hours on Sunday, that he said, "Doctor, do you want me to 
rust to death ?" No pastor ever did the same amount of preaching 
and visiting that he crowded into the eight years of pastoral work. 
He would remark to them, "Perhaps I would preach better sermons 
if I would preach fewer, but a square or an oblong bullet will do as 
much execution as a polished round one." 

It is estimated that during his pastorates there were at least five 
thousand people converted. All of his meetings were successful, and 
the converts could be counted from fifty to five hundred at each 
place. While this looked like it might be enough to make a pastor 
proud of his success, Mr. Jones always felt, with the opportunities 
and modern appliances of the day, that a greater number of souls 
should have been won to Christ. 

While he made a constant study of his people, and the Bible, he 
did not waste much time in studying the systematized treatises on 
theology. He so frequently said : "I despise theology and botany, 
but I love religion and flowers." Nor did he waste much time on 
creeds. He would say : "It is the skin of the truth, dried and stuffed 
with sand and sawdust. If I had a creed, I would sell it to a mu- 
seum." Nor did he claim to be a metaphysician, but he would say, 
"1 can see a hole through a ladder, if there is any light on the other 
side." 

Perhaps Mr. Jones was more interested in the study of the natu- 
ral sciences than any other branch of investigation. He was thor- 
oughly familiar with those subjects, and some of his most striking 



84 Sam P. Jonss. 

illustrations were within the realm of natural science. He was a 
great lover and reader of natural history, especially that part which 
treats of the habits of animals, and what they feed upon. The 
knowledge that he derived from the study of natural history fre- 
quently helped him in understanding human nature. He was also 
a great student of the history of our country, and many of his most 
notable illustrations were culled from the history of the world. 
Men of prominence in the educational world would listen with won- 
der and amazement at many of the forceful illustrations gathered 
from history, and would exclaim, "Wonder when he read that, and 
where he found it?" With the great knowledge at his command. 
he would go before an audience, selecting the most appropriate text 
for the occasion, and concentrate his mind upon it, bringing before 
them all available and suitable knowledge, ever keeping his eye upon 
his congregation. While no man ever preached with more concen- 
tration and conciseness, sometimes he would realize that there was 
a possibility of his crowd not following him closely, then he would 
leave his thread of argument, and stay with his crowd. This fre- 
quently led him to say, "I may not always stick to my text, but I'll 
stick to my crowd." The story told him by brother Richardson illus- 
trated the point rather forcefully. "There is nothing like holding the 
gun all over the tree," he would say. "As with the old, palsied father 
who went out with his son squirrel hunting, the old man's part was 
to shake the bush, and he had but to take hold of the bush and it 
would shake without any effort. Oh one occasion when he was to 
shake the bush and turn the squirrel, after he had turned the squir- 
rel for four or five different shots for his son, all of which failed of 
their mark, the old man said : 'Give me the gun, and you shake the 
bush.' The boy gave up the gun and shook the bush and turned the 
squirrel. The old man held up the gun in his palsied hands, and as 
it 'wobbled' all over the tree, 'bang' went the gun and down came 
the game, at which the old man remarked joyfully, 'I told you I'd 
git him.' The boy replied, 'Anybody could kill a squirrel up a tree 
who would hold a gun all over it, as you did.' " 

The great truths of the Bible such as sin, repentance, faith, salva- 
tion, heaven and hell were preached by him as no sectarian, theolo- 



Sam P. Jonss. 85 

gian or metaphysician has ever done. He preached those great 
truths with' a clearness of mind and an unction of heart that has no 
parallel in history. He never tried to show his congregation the dif- 
ference between evangelical and legal repentance ; he never dis- 
cussed before them whether depravity was partial or total. He 
never tried to prove to them that there is a God, or that Christ is 
divine, or that there is a heaven or a hell. He took those great truths 
as a fact, because the Bible stated them, and started his message 
with those things in the background. The Bible was the basis for 
all that he preached, and the inspiration of all his hopes. He left the 
proof of these things to those who wished to speculate upon them. 
His idea was that Christ meant just what he said, and he preached 
the gospel instead of defending it, proclaimed the word instead of 
trying to prove it. He never changed his belief about these truths, 
and preached them as firmly and powerfully the last meeting he con- 
ducted as in his early pastorate. 

While on the Monticello work, Mr. Jones assisted more pastors 
in revival work than he had been able to do before. Some of the 
places visited were Barnesville, LaGrange, Griffin, and West Point. 

At Barnesville there was something near one hundred persons 
that were received into the church, while the entire church seemed 
to have made a reconsecration and received a fresh baptism of the 
Spirit. From the streets that had been so noted for profanity, pro- 
faneness disappeared entirely. Two of the saloons closed their 
business, and their proprietors were among the converts. A deep 
feeling of solemnity rested upon every one, and the town was not 
the same. 

At LaGrange another mighty work of grace followed his preach- 
ing. An intelligent observer said: "It is difficult to criticise Mr. 
Jones's preaching. It is different from that of any other man the 
writer ever heard. His methods are unprecedented, but always suc- 
cessful ; his understanding of the human heart, and his analysis of 
human motives and conduct are marvelous. His faith in God un- 
bounded, and his zeal never flags. His illustrations are without 
number. They are always sharply drawn, clear, and cutting. He 
uses satire the keenest, and brings the audience to involuntary 



86 Sam P. Jones. 

laughter, then startles them with a declaration of astounding truth 
from God's words, then makes an appeal so touching that tears rush 
unbidden to the eyes. He is, withal, a plain, honest preacher with 
but one motive — an all-consuming desire to save souls for his Mas- 
ter. The State of Georgia, with all its renowned ministers, does 
not present a more attractive preacher than he, not one that can draw 
a larger congregation, or interest them more after they are gathered. 
He and his preaching are the principal subjects of conversation in 
LaGrange." 

At West Point there was a great revival, which resulted in many 
accessions to the different churches in the town. There was a moral 
reformation wrought that changed the aspects of the place. When 
Mr. Jones went there, the people were so dead, religiously, that the 
attendance was quite small. It was a morning service in a week- 
day. It seemed the most hopeless outlook for a meeting. There 
were but four people to hear him preach his first sermon. After his 
sermon he said, "Now, I want us to have an altar service." M.r. 
Jones and the pastor and two noble women knelt for prayer. After 
they had reconsecrated themselves to God, Mr. Jones said : "I want 
the pastor to go with me to every business house in this town, and 
we will say to the men as we meet them, just one thing, and that is, 
'You are going to hell/ and then we will move on. I want you good 
women to go all over this town, ring the door bell, and when the 
women meet you, just look them squarely in the face and don't say 
but one thing, and that is, 'You are going to hell.' " They made 
him the promise, and that afternoon practically every woman in the 
town was so addressed, while Mr. Jones and the pastor met men 
and warned them in that startling way. Some of the women 
slammed the doors in the faces of the two good women, while others 
had their curiosity aroused. The men got very angry, and it was 
with much difficulty and shrewd reasoning that fights were avoided. 
That night the whole town was out to church, and Mr. Jones 
preached one of his most scathing sermons. A great revival broke 
out which swept over the entire place, until finally the men who were 
notoriously opposed to religion were in constant attendance upon 
the services. 



Sam P. Jones. 87 

At the morning hours the stores were closed, and the church was 
always crowded. A writer declared that he was as striking and im- 
pressive in his speaking as Talmage ; that he created sensation with- 
out making sensation his end. He preaches the truth unvarnished, 
straight, and strong, and in such a way as to captivate the common 
sense of his hearers and go direct to their hearts. His denunciations 
of sin are withering, and yet truthful. His illustrations cut some- 
times like a knife. He draws pictures as clear-cut as a fine cameo, and 
he has a pathos powerful at times enough to melt the hearts of his 
hearers. The Rev. S. P. Calloway, in speaking to me, said : "He 
is a phenomenal man. I never saw such a king of congregations." 

In all those early meetings the lines were drawn. Mr. Jones 
worked on the principle that there could be no movement without 
friction ; no battle without an issue ; no issue without the drawing 
of lines. He believed that it was possible for a man to preach the 
gospel and live in peace with the devil with an armstice unbroken, 
but said : "Woe be to the preacher when all men speak well of him." 
In all those years as a pastor he was the object of a great deal of 
criticism. If truth furnished the people with no material with which 
they could assault him, there was no falsehood that the wicked could 
conceive that they would not take and circulate against him. 

The most remarkable conversion under the ministry of Mr. Jones 
at Monticello was that of Maj. Jno. C. Key. Mr. Jones in speaking 
of him said: "I think he is the grandest hero living for God in 
America to-day. He is a lawyer with a splendid practice, and a 
thorough gentleman. I was conducting a meeting in his town, and 
on Sunday morning, the anniversary of his birth, and I think the 
anniversary of his marriage as well, he called to his wife after 
breakfast and had her to come and sit down by his side. She was 
the sweetest Christian woman, and the best housekeeper, I ever saw 
in my life. He called her 'Mary and Martha,' and she was 
both. He said to her that Sunday morning, 'Wife, I am fifty years 
old to-day; we have been married exactly thirty years; you have 
been a Christian woman ever since we were married, and before 
mat, too. I have never cared for these things, but I wish to say I 
am going with you to church, and ask the preacher when he finishes 



88 Sam P. Jones. 

the sermon to open the doors, and then I am going up to the altar 
and join the church, and spend the rest of my days with you in the 
Christian life/ With great joy she said, 'Husband, are you?' and 
he answered, 'That's what I am going to do.' 'Oh/ she exclaimed, 
'how I rejoice!' He went to the church with his wife, and sat by 
her side during the service, and when the sermon had ended he 
arose and said: 'Will the pastor please open the doors of the 
church ?' The doors were thrown open and that man walked up 
and joined. He turned to the congregation and said: 'Fellow 
townsmen and neighbors, you all know me ; I have lived among you 
from childhood. I am fifty years old to-day. I have been married 
thirty years. I have a good Christian wife, but I have not been a 
Christian. I said to her this morning, "Wife, I am fifty years old 
to-day. We have been married these thirty years ; during all that 
time you have been a devoted Christian woman, but I have never 
cared about anything of the kind. Now, wife, I am going to join 
the church where you have been so many years." Brethren, I do 
not claim to have any religion, but I promise you this, there shall 
not be a man in this church who shall beat me living right, or beat 
me serving God, unless he has more sense than I have.' His state- 
ment moved the audience to sympathetic tears, and there were many 
hearty handshakes and shouts of God's people. As I was away 
from my circuit a great deal the latter part of the year, frequently 
it was impossible for me to return and fill my appointment on Sun- 
day. I would write him, 'Dear Brother Key : I can not return ; will 
you preach for me Sunday ?' and I always received this reply : 'Dear 
Brother Jones : I can not preach much, but I will do the best I can. 
You go on bringing souls to God.' He taught in the Sabbath- 
school, and did everything which a true Christian man could do. He 
was one of the finest Christian men that lived on the face of the 
earth, and a few years ago he died a triumphant death and went 
home happy." 

Monticello and Jasper county were noted for their wickedness. 
The people were intelligent, well to do, worldly and wicked. There 
were seven hundred converted and joined the churches while Mr. 
Jones was there, and a revival was carried on^by the converts which 




REV. SIMON PETER RICHARDSON, 
His unique and faithful Presiding Elder. 



Sam P. Jonks. 89 

revolutionized the county. The saloons were soon voted out. The 
influence extended to adjoining counties, and the work abides to- 
day, and there are no more religious and spiritual people to be found 
anywhere, after a quarter of a century. 

Another convert was Mr. Webb, who was a liquor dealer. 
His little boy had become a Christian, and he and his wife were 
greatly convicted and happily converted, at the same time, in their 
"home. He went with Mr. Jones to his different appointments, and 
did much to drive liquor from the town and county. He is to-day 
a most earnest and godly Christian. 

The work on the Monticello circuit closed his labors as a pastor. 
The latter part of the year his presiding elder had given him per- 
mission to spend some of his time in assisting other pastors in re- 
vival work. His success while on the Monticello circuit and the 
great revivals that he conducted gave him prestige at the coming 
annual conference, and he was appointed to the agency of the North 
Georgia Orphanage. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



The Orphans' Home and kevivai, Work. 

In the previous chapter we have seen how the calls for evangelis- 
tic work multiplied while he was serving the Newberne and Monti- 
cello circuits. At the last place his presiding elder and the quarterly 
conference decided that the calls from other brethren were so urgent 
that he might spend some of his time in assisting them. Mr. Jones 
had realized that he was giving almost half of his time to outside 
work, and at the close of the conference his presiding elder recom- 
mended that he be appointed to the agency, believing that he was 
the only man that could raise the money to cover the indebtedness 
of the Orphanage, and thereby enable him to do more revival work: 

The Home was overwhelmingly in debt. It could hardly have 
been sold for enough money to have cancelled the indebtedness. 
Vincent R. Tourney, Judge Meriwether, and others, could not go 
further with the debt and interest. They saw the rapidly increas- 
ing popularity of Mr. Jones, and felt that as agent he should care 
for the orphans and raise the debt, and have a wider sphere for his 
talent as an evangelist. 

In December of 1880, at the conference held at Rome, presided 
over by Bishop McTyeire, Mr. Jones was made agent of the Or- 
phans' Home. In view of his desire to devote more time to the work 
of an evangelist, he received the appointment gratefully, believing 
that it would give him larger opportunity to do revival work. The 
demand for such service was so urgent, that he felt that the Spirit 
was leading him in that direction, so this seemed to be a providential 
opening. Instead of the Orphanage being in debt eight or ten 
thousand dollars, as many supposed, he found by the time old notes 
and debts were paid that the amount was nearly twice this amount. 
In canvassing for money he found people were not very anxious 

(90) 



Sam P. Jones. 91 

to pay old debts, but his remarkable ability in raising funds over- 
came the objections, and everywhere he went money came in by 
basketfuls. Some of the collections were marvelous. He paid of! 
all the debts and raised money to erect the handsome main building, 
now known as the "Sam Jones Building." 

In writing to the Christian Advocate, he gave an account of where 
he had been, and what he had done, covering a period of several 
months. In the letter he says : 

"The eyes of the world are upon an agent, and their ears are not 
open to his cries. Some respect him, some pity him, some despise 
him, while on the other hand, an agent respects the generous, pities 
the poor and despises the miser, so he strikes his balance-sheet, and 
moves on. 

"I began Friday night, sixteenth of December, at the old, but 
trusty town of Lexington ; a fair congregation and twenty-five dol- 
lars cheerfully given to the Orphans' Home. Thence to Winter- 
ville, a good congregation and twenty-three dollars. I wonder if 
that town will ever be as large as the great heart of Bro. John Win- 
ter ? I spent a pleasant night with him ; left him Sunday morning, 
thinking more of my race. Thank God for every oasis in an agent's 
Sahara. Thence to Athens, a city made a hundred times larger than 
its corporate limits by its noble men and their noble deeds. They 
gave me cheerfully more than two hundred dollars, and kindly said, 
( Conu again.' Thence to Thomson, Christmas Sunday. I could 
say much for this people — noble, kind, generous. A bad day, fair 
congregation and one hundred dollars for my cause. Three p.m. at 
Harlem; good congregation, twelve dollars contributed. The month 
of December gave me nearly four hundred dollars. 

"First Sunday in January I was at eleven a.m. at Pain's Chapel, 
Atlanta. A good house, kind people. 'A man may take a neigh- 
bor's part, yet have no cash to spare him.' Collection, thirty- three 
dollars and sixty-five cents. Sixth church three p.m. ; the youngest 
of the Atlanta churches, but grand in Christliness ; they gave me 
fifty-one dollars and twenty-six cents. St. Paul church at night; 
this church is noted for its heroic struggles against wind and tide, 
and its patient continence in well doing. They gave me thirty-seven 



92 Sam P. Jonss. 

dollars. If, wherever there was a will there was a way, I would 
have gotten one thousand there. At Oothcaloga, Calhoun circuit, 
second Sunday, eleven a.m. ; they came through cold and mud and 
gave me twenty-three dollars. I said, 'Thank you,' and left, feeling 
good. At Adairsville, three p.m., I got one hundred dollars, minus, 
ninety-four dollars and forty-five cents. Thence to Calhoun at 
night ; I had a fine congregation, got twenty-two dollars and came 
away wondering that I did not get more. Third Sunday I was 
rained out. Fourth Sunday, Rome, Dr. Potter — how I love him, 
how I prize his counsel, how his words impress me. (How that 
turkey dinner depressed me. ) His church loves, reverences and ad- 
mires (and I trust will obey) him. I have been nowhere and found 
the people and preacher so universally pleased with each other. I 
got over one hundred dollars there, mud or no mud, January gave 
me about three hundred dollars. 

"February, still in the mud ; can't say of my own knowledge that 
the sun has risen but one time since Christmas, but through the mud 
I will go until I am up to my chin. First Sunday, eleven a. m., at 
Jackson's Chapel, Cave Spring circuit, seventeen dollars for the Or- 
phan's Home; night at Cave Spring, good congregation, thirty- 
nine dollars. Edgewood next, second Sunday, was pleased with that: 
congregation ; they listened scripturally, and gave tolerably — twen- 
ty-seven dollars there. At night I was with Brother Christian at 
Evans' Chapel ; they are a religious people — kind, hospitable ; they 
gave me sixty-three dollars. Third Sunday, Dalton, a fine member- 
ship, a strong church ; they have a fine pastor, a good preacher ; he 
is self-poised, successful. I got seventy dollars there. I would 
have trebled that amount there but some of the good brethren were 
prejudiced; they did not know that our institution had repented, 
been converted, and was now a child of God, and on its way to* 
heaven. We will outlive their prejudices. Fourth Sunday at Ma- 
rietta; it was a benediction to be with those people; Brother Seals; 
has his church in full sympathy with him in his labors of love, and 
works of faith. You may soon chronicle one of the greatest re- 
vivals, Marietta the place, Brother Seals the instrument. They 
gave me one hundred and twenty dollars. Add to the above 



. Sam P. Jones. 93 

amounts private donations and I have more than one thousand dol- 
lars as the result of my first three months this year, in spite of rain 
and mud, gloom and despondency. 

"Now, Mr. Editor, we are taking all orphan children we can find 
or hear of, placing them in good homes. We are paying for our 
home, because we must have a place to which they must come, and 
a place from which they go. We are now a success, and nothing 
succeeds like success. 

"Yours, 

"S. P. Jones, Agent." 

"P. S. — Please let me return thanks to the generous public and 
the pastors who have universally been a help to me in my labors. 
God bless them all, preachers and people. S. P. J." 

In the year 1882, while engaged in raising money for the Or- 
phanage, he conducted a great many meetings throughout Georgia. 
Some of the greatest revivals ever held in the State were conducted 
by him at this time. He preached in most of the leading pulpits of 
Georgia. His fame soon covered the entire State. All of these 
meetings were eminently successful, and hundreds of converts were 
made wherever he labored. 

At Newnan, Ga., he held a meeting and raised a good sum for the 
Orphanage. The Newnan court was in session, and adjourned to 
hear him preach. The result was the conversion of two members of 
the grand jury, who had been unbelievers, and the meeting closed 
with members of the grand jury shouting. 

At Athens, Ga., he preached in the First Methodist church to an 
audience that filled the first floor and the gallery. At the close of 
this meeting he raised a collection of nearly four hundred dollars 
for his Orphans' Home. 

At Eatonton, in May, he visited the town again in the interest of 
the Orphanage. The Messenger says: "He is of the people; they 
like him, and he knows how to reach and touch their hearts. When 
he visits the community he never fails to leave the religious atmos- 
phere in a healthier condition. He is an honor to his State and 
church, and thousands live to bless the day when they met and 



94 Sam P. Jones. 

listened to his searching appeals in the great meeting he held here." 
He received in money and first-class subscriptions for the Orphans' 
Home about three hundred dollars. 

He spoke in Atlanta in the interest of the Home to a crowded 
house in the First Methodist church. A paper said: "Mr. Jones 
rose and made a most pathetic appeal ; spoke of the good the home 
had done, and was doing ; of the debt that had been carried, but was 
gradually being paid; of the success he had met with in different 
parts of the State, and the scenes of sadness and desolation he had 
visited — mothers that had worked and labored for their little ones 
and were ready to faint by the way, because bread could not be put 
into their mouths, and how one had said to him that surely God 
had sent him to her, in her sore distress, and had given her little 
ones up — torn her heartstrings to part with those little ones — 
rather than to see them starve, and blessed God that there was an 
Orphans' Home. He said that last year his wife said to him : "Mr. 
Jones, I don't want you to take that appointment again," but after 
the good she saw had been done in the past year, her parting word 
to him had been : "You run the Orphan Home in Decatur, and I will 
run your orphan home here in Carters ville." Furthermore, he said : 
"Friends, when I came from home, wife said to me: 'Come back 
to-night so you may see our children when they open their stock- 
ings in the morning.' When I am awakened, before day on Christ- 
mas morning and see the expressions of delight on my little chil- 
dren's faces, hear them blowing their horns and beating their 
drums, I shall look at them and think: 'Will we all be here next 
Christmas, or will they be orphans?' How many in my presence 
can tell whether one or more may be missed before Christmas comes 
around ; or, sadder still, how many may during this year lay to rest 
some dear little one whose prattle made their hearts glad last year?" 
There was not a dry eye in the house, and strong men bowed their 
heads and were not ashamed of the tears that did honor to their 
manhood. 

When Mr. Jones had concluded his remarks, the treasurer arose 
and stated that a few years ago the debt of the Home far exceeded 
the value of the place, and its influence had been crippled much by 



Sam P. Jones. 95 

this embarrassment, but to say that our property, which was val- 
ued at ten thousand dollars, has only a debt of three thousand eight 
hundred due on it shows a brighter day coming for us. The people 
are helping us, and God's blessing is with us. If you could see those 
children as I have seen them, join with them in their little games, 
eat at the table with them, be with the boys while they work in 
the field ; if you could see them thus, you would all contribute liber- 
ally to their support. Mr. Jones then proceeded to take a collection, 
and the congregation responded very liberally. A stranger gave a 
check on the New York Exchange National Bank for one hundred 
dollars. As a result of the collection one thousand dollars was 
raised. 

The Atlanta Constitution says: "We have never commended a 
more admirable charity than the Orphans' Home. The care of help- 
less little children, the providing of a home for homeless babies — the 
reclaiming of waifs from the streets, from wretchedness and want, 
or worse — appeals strongly to the sympathy of all fathers and 
mothers. When this work is done without endowment, by heroic 
appeals to the public, and faith in human nature, and economy and 
efficiency, we fail to see how any man or woman can refuse it their 
aid. The Orphans' Home stand's on its record. It has provided 
shelter, a home, food, clothing and schooling to thirty-six orphan 
children at a total cost of less than twelve hundred dollars, or less 
than thirty dollars per annum to the child. This is marvelous in its 
cheapness, and yet the happy faces of the children, their plump fig- 
ures and rosy cheeks, show that they have had abundance. The 
secret of the thing is in the fine management of the farm on which 
the Home is located — of the poultry-yard, garden, dairy and barn- 
yard, and in putting the children at work on the farm and in the 
house. 

"Mr. Jones, the agent of the Home, appeals to the public for five 
thousand dollars with which to build an additional house in which 
to put other children who are now applying for admission. The 
managers are able to feed all the children who apply, but they 
have no room for them. With five thousand dollars he agreed to 
build a new house that will accommodate from fifty to eighty more 



96 Sam P. Jones. 

children, and to begin the work when two thousand five hundred 
dollars is subscribed. This amount ought to be subscribed without 
a day's delay, and we believe our people will subscribe it when they 
are called" upon." 

In this chapter it is impossible to give detailed accounts of the 
great revivals that Mr. Jones held during the first four years as 
agent. Most of the meetings were held in Georgia, while some of 
his great revivals were in adjoining States. He visited Louisville, 
Ky., and assisted Dr. J. G. Morris in a wonderful meeting at the 
Walnut Street Methodist church. Dr. Morris, in speaking of the 
meeting, said : "From his first appearance he became identified with 
the religious life of that rare congregation, and was enshrined in 
their truest, tenderest Christian affection. My own heart knitted to 
him, and to the sad day of his departure from among us I recognized 
him to be the friend of God, and of his fellow men." 

He held great meetings in Atlanta at the First church, with Gen- 
eral Evans as pastor. The second was with Rev. Howell H. Parks. 
Trinity church, that city, was also a field where he worked re- 
peatedly during the pastorate of Dr. T. R. Kendall. Many promi- 
nent members of those two great churches were either converted or 
led to a deeper consecration during his ministry at that time. With 
Rev. J. O. A. Cook as pastor of the St. Luke's church, Columbus, 
Ga., he had a glorious meeting. For nearly a month great crowds 
gathered at this church, and many were brought to the Saviour. In 
Augusta, Ga., at the St. John's church, during the pastorates of 
Rev. W. H. LaPrade and Rev. Warren A. Candler, now bishop, the 
work was greatly honored of the Lord. In Savannah, Ga., there 
were also great meetings held in the Trinity and the Monumental 
Methodist churches. He visited Macon, Ga., and assisted Dr. Jos. 
S. Key, now bishop, in a great work. His preaching made a pro- 
found impression upon the people and the pastor, and in after-years 
Bishop Key said : "He staid with me near a month in my home. I 
came to know him thoroughly, and my opinion of him and my esti- 
mate never changed, except that he grew greater and broader and 
sweeter in his spirit and manner. His first sermon in that meeting 
arrested attention and drew a crowd to hear him. I have told him 



Sam P. Jonss. 97 

many years later that, like a mockingbird, his first song was as good 
as his last." 

Dr. A. J. Lamar tells how Mr. Jones's meeting broke up the one 
that he was holding in the Baptist church. His meeting had started 
off remarkably well, but for some unaccountable reason to Dr. La- 
mar, the audience fell off Monday night to half ; on Tuesday to one- 
fourth, and on Wednesday he had only a few of his deacons, and 
the great congregation was gone. He was dumbfounded. He 
turned to the deacons and said : "What has happened to this meet- 
ing?" They looked at him with a quizzical look and said : "Did you 
not know Sam Jones was conducting a meeting at the Mulberry 
Street Methodist church?" "Who is Sam Jones?" replied Dr. La- 
mar. The deacons were greatly surprised, and said: "You don't 
know who Sam Jones is?" Dr. Lamar replied : "In South Carolina, 
where I have just come from, I never heard of him." "Well," said 
they, "Sam Jones is the greatest sensation Georgia ever produced. 
When he is in town there is no use to try to run against him. All 
our people are around to hear him to-night." "Well," said Dr. La- 
mar, "let's adjourn this meeting and go over and see what manner 
of man he is." He was introduced to Mr. Jones, and said : "Brother 
Jones, you have taken my crowd from me, but I don't see that you 
are getting many of them converted to-night." "Well," replied Mr. 
Jones, "Brother Lamar, a fellow has got to catch his fish before he 
strings them. I am just drumming up my crowd, and will string 
them after awhile." Dr. Lamar replied : "Well, I am coming to see 
you string them, and to help, if I can." Mr. Jones replied : "That's 
the talk, we need the help of all good men." 

During that meeting Dr. Lamar and his people were as enthusi- 
astic as the members and pastor of the church in which it was held. 
In many other places he preached and won souls to Christ, and the 
friendship and love begotten in the hearts of the preachers whom he 
met in those early days clung to him through all the years of his life. 

The pastors of Georgia have been among the best and closest 
friends he has had. For several years he took a nominal appoint- 
ment, and continued to raise money for the Orphanage wherever he 
was called to preach, and his work began to extend in all directions, 
and he started out in the great work of world-wide evangelism. 



98 Sam P. Jones. 

For eleven years Mr. Jones was the agent and bore all the ex- 
penses of the Home. The treasurer drew upon him for whatever 
was needed. Being out of the State in his evangelistic work, he be- 
lieved that some one ought to keep the Home close to the pockets of 
Georgians, and he joined with the trustees in asking that Rev. How- 
ard L. Crumley should be his associate. He held a nominal appoint- 
ment for two years. 

At the end of two years Bishop Haygood decided that he had no 
right under the laws of the church to appoint Mr. Jones to the 
agency, as his time was not spent with the work of the Home, so 
Mr. Jones located in December, 1893, in order to devote all of his 
time to the evangelistic work. 

There had arisen some technicality regarding his taking a regular 
appointment, and devoting his time to revival work. A few heated 
discussions before and after the action resulted. The brethren of the 
conference were anxious for him to remain one of them, but Mr. 
Jones didn't see how he could give up his large evangelistic field 
and confine himself to a single pastorate. 

His thousands of friends regretted very much that he severed his 
official connection with the Orphanage, but until the time of his 
death he was one of the most liberal contributors to the great work. 
The institution was always very dear to his heart, and he looked 
upon his services there among the greatest that he rendered to suf- 
fering humanity. 

Mr. Jones, at the Augusta Conference, in 1885, decided that with 
a large board of trustees, the business could be more easily handled, 
and had the conference to change the charter, and Messrs. W. A. 
Gregg, Robert A. Hemphill and George Muse became the sole trus- 
tees, the agent being ex-oificio trustee. The plan has worked ad- 
mirably. The home has grown ; from two to three hundred desti- 
tute children are helped each year; the babies, helpless cripples, and 
even- grade of moral destitution finds a welcome in the Home, 
which was rescued and supported by Mr. Jones for eleven years. 

When Mr. Jones gave up the work of the Orphanage, the com- 
mittee made the following report : 

"Mr. Jones has severed all official relation with the Orphans' 



Sam P. Jones. 99 

Home. He has been the truest friend we ever had. For about thir- 
teen years he has been its father. Never did the cry of the orphan 
go unresponded to. For many years he met the drafts from his own 
pocket. He built the main building and chapel and stocked the 
farm and met every claim. The orphans look with admiration upon 
his life-sized picture that adorns the sitting-room. They love him 
and with sincere sadness suffer the separation. This throws upon 
the Home the additional expense of one thousand dollars which 
Brother Jones has been accustomed to meet. The whole burden of 
the Home, amounting to about five thousand dollars a year, rests on 
the conference. They are your children, and you will furnish the 
five thousand dollars needed. Brother Jones has so long raised part 
of this outside the conference that it will seem heavy to you. But 

LOFC, 



CHAPTER IX. 



His Fame Spreading. 

Mr. Jones had preached throughout Georgia, and had already- 
come into prominence as an evangelist. While he had not preached 
beyond the boundaries of his State, yet his reputation had gone be- 
fore him, and he was becoming known in adjoining States. 

In the great meeting held in Macon, Ga., 1881, in the Methodist 
church, with Rev. Jos. S. Key, D.D., as pastor, Mr. Jones became 
intimately acquainted with Rev. A. J. Lamar, pastor of one of the 
Baptist churches of that city. After this Dr. Lamar accepted a call 
to the Central Baptist church at Memphis, Tenn., and when he had 
gone there to his pastorate there was a meeting of the general pas- 
tors' conference of that city to consider the question of holding a 
great union revival, and after deciding to have the union revival 
there came the more important question of who would be a suitable 
leader. In former years they had had Earle, Hammond, Moody and 
other celebrities. There was no man at this time with a great repu- 
tation who was available, and the ministers were at their wits' end. 

Finally Dr. Lamar arose and said : "Why not get Sam Jones ?" 
And immediately the question came up : "Who is Sam Jones ?" Dr. 
Lamar said : "I refer you to Dr. S. A. Steele, or Dr. R. H. Mahon. 
Probably they can tell you about him, as he is a Methodist, and a 
member of the North Georgia Conference." Both of these minis- 
ters immediately spoke and said that they had never heard of Sam 
Jones. "Well," said Dr. Lamar, "he is the most unique man I ever 
saw. He is a sensation within himself. He can come nearer turn- 
ing the city upside down than any other man upon this continent. 
If you will get him and give him the middle of the road he will stir 
up things. The only trouble will be to get a place big enough to 
hold the audience." 

100) 



Sam P. Jonss. 101 

After much discussion it was finally agreed by Drs. Steele and 
Mahon to correspond with Dr. A. G. Haygood and find out some- 
thing more about the Georgia revivalist. Whereupon Dr. S. A. 
Steele, pastor of the First Methodist church of Memphis, wrote to 
Dr. Haygood (afterward Bishop Haygood), stating the circum- 
stances, and asking if the preachers of Memphis could afford to 
"carry" Sam Jones. Dr. Haygood replied in this laconic manner: 

"Sam Jones is a Methodist preacher 
Good and true. 
Give him a chance and he'll 
Carry you." 

The reply of Dr. Haygood was so satisfactory that the conference 
unanimously instructed Dr. Lamar to write and extend to Mr. Jones 
an invitation to visit Memphis. 

Mr. Jones accepted the invitation; reported in Memphis on Jan- 
uary 6, 1884. Dr. Lamar met him at the Peabody Hotel, and found. 
Mr. Jones "joking" with some commercial travellers. He took him, 
home with him, and after being greeted by Mrs. Lamar, Mr. Jones 
said : "Sister Lamar, I never felt so far from home in all my life ;. 
and aside from you and Brother Lamar, I don't know a soul in this 
great city." 

Sunday morning he preached in the Central Baptist church on 
"Prayer," and captured the hearts of Dr. Lamar's people, which 
made the pastor very happy. 

The place selected for the union meeting was the Court Street 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, that being the largest building in 
the city. The first union service was held Sunday afternoon, and the 
meetings continued for five weeks. 

The first two weeks of the meeting was up-hill work, in spite of 
the immense crowds and growing interest. The lack of co-operation 
upon the part of the preachers discouraged Mr. Jones, and he felt 
that the meeting was not growing in power as it should have done. 
Dr. Lamar, his faithful friend and helper, went to his room on Sat- 
urday night and found him — to use Mr. Jones's own expression — 
"under the juniper tr$e." Dr. Lamar was surprised and grieved ta 



102 Sam P. Jones. 

find Mr. Jones so discouraged, and after discussing the situation, 
they resolved to take Christ at his own word when he said, "If two 
of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, 
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." And 
they went to prayer. 

After that night Mr. Jones began preaching with renewed vigor 
and force; and on the next Sunday afternoon (the third Sunday of 
his stay in Memphis) his preaching produced a great awakening. 
His manner, style and use of the language of the common people 
began to make impression upon them. He gave full play to wit, 
humor and pathos; sometimes his audience was convulsed with 
laughter, at other times angry, then by his pathos he moved them all 
to tears. The people went away talking, wondering and criticising, 
for they had never heard the like. The preachers were shocked by 
his plainness of speech and chagrined at his arraignment of them for 
their lack of power. While they winced under his reference to them 
they took it as good-naturedly as they could, and they, too, were 
becoming more and more convinced of his way of thinking. 

The crowds had grown daily until the building ceased to be large 
enough to accommodate the audiences that gathered. Then Dr. 
Lamar and Mr. Jones discussed the propriety and advisability of a 
men's meeting, in order that they might have greater results. Such 
meetings were not known in the South at that time. Perhaps in the 
Western States and in some of the Northern States such meetings 
had been held. A great many prophesied that it w^ould be a failure 
in attendance and results ; but when the hour for services came the 
streets were crowded with men going to the Cumberland Presbyte- 
rian church. Soon the auditorium was filled and standing-room w T as 
at a premium. When Mr. Jones entered the building and saw the 
immense audience, he was inspired with the scene, and ready for 
the services. The flash of his wonderful eyes and the great spirit 
that imbued him with power made his words almost irresistible. 
He preached that powerful sermon, "Escape for Thy Life," his text 
being taken from the nineteenth chapter of Genesis and the seven- 
teenth verse. 

It is a strange coincidence that in his last great men's meeting in 



Sam P. Joisms. 103 

Oklahoma City, when there were from six to seven thousand men 
powerfully and tremendously moved, when thousands of men came 
forward and shook hands with him, pledging God a better life, that 
he should have used the same text that he used in his first great 
men's meeting in Memphis. 

Mr. Jones spoke but a few words before he had the undivided at- 
tention and sympathy of all his hearers, and the interest grew 
deeper as he proceeded ; and at times reached an intense degree of 
enthusiasm. We shall, perhaps, not exaggerate when we say that 
none present had ever heard the truth so fearlessly, so earnestly, so 
tenderly, so faithfully preached. The common sins of men were 
held up in all their wickedness and deformity, and strong men trem- 
bled as they listened to the fullest exposure of their wickedness. At 
times the audience roared with laughter. At times they burst out in 
applause, and when the speaker closed, under the power of his won- 
derful pathos, nine-tenths of all the men present were in tears. We 
doubt if any one present ever saw so many men brought to tears. 
As he concluded this wonderful sermon Mr. Jones said : "Every one 
here who feels that he needs God's mercy and desires a better life let 
him fall down and engage with us in this closing prayer." 

Instantly the vast audience fell down upon their knees, and there 
were not twenty men out of the multitude who did not respond to 
this appeal. It was an inspiring scene. 

This men's meeting was the turning point in the revival. The 
backbone of opposition had been broken. The whole town had 
been won by the evangelist, and the throngs that came to hear him 
hung upon his words. 

The newspapers took up the meetings and gave much time and 
space to them. The services became the talk of the town. On the 
streets, in the stores, at the shops, in the homes, "Sam Jones" and 
the revival were the subjects of almost all conversations. 

The churches in Memphis previous to this revival show that relig- 
ion was at a rather low ebb. The C ommerical- Appeal says : "The 
various churches in Memphis of late years seem too much disposed 
to act upon the supposition that their respective denominations were 
close corporations, intended for the worship of those already saved, 



104 Sam P. Jonss. 

instead of making new converts and adding new members to the 
churches. ' 

"Recently a Memphis minister, zealous in his work, deplored that 
the ministers and the churches had not accomplished more in the 
past, and expressed the startling opinion that one hundred thousand 
dollars had been spent in Memphis by the various religious denomi- 
nations, and that notwithstanding this vast expenditure of money all 
of the churches had not gained more than one hundred converts. 
But the minister of four weeks ago, who regretted that so little had 
been accomplished by the expenditure of so much money for church 
purposes, will find much consolation in the result of the union meet- 
ings in progress in this city. It showed that in union there is 
strength; for so soon as the various denominations forgot their 
creeds and united their forces they accomplished what they failed to 
do when divided. These meetings were a tribute to Christianity 
from the different denominations engaged in the work. Much good 
has been accomplished by their harmonious action." 

While the weather was, perhaps, the most inclement ever known 
in that latitude, with the rain, hail, sleet and snow constantly falling, 
it did not prevent the people from coming out in great numbers. 
There was a constant stream of wet and shivering humanity pouring 
into the great auditorium day and night, until there wasn't standing- 
room. This unique preacher, "the Georgia evangelist," attracted 
and interested the people. 

The Commercial- Appeal says : "The crowd increased as his repu- 
tation spread over the city, and if he should continue his labors, it 
would require the exposition building to hold the people anxious to 
hear him. His power over the people is a mystery. Peculiarity is 
said to be the primary quality of greatness, that the property a man 
has in common with other men will never attract the world, and to 
be distinguished one must exhibit some rare peculiarity. Mr. Jones 
certainly has remarkable characteristics, but it would be difficult to 
define them. He is no sky-scraper, but wholly devoid of fustin and 
rant; never stands on tip-toe with hands stretched aloft as if he 
would pull down the stars. 

"His language is transparent in its simplicity, but all his intel- 



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(88) 



Sam P. Jonss. 105 

lectual powers so admirably mixed and blended are brought into 
requisition in every sermon, and their action is delightfully harmo- 
nious. There is neither too much nor too little of any given quality. 
The judgment and the imagination are in perfect equipoise. As he 
speaks his soul seems to be a fountain of living water. Much of his 
success and popularity consists in understanding human nature, and 
the emotions of the heart, and in saying what his hearers have often 
thought but never before heard defined. It is this gift which enables 
him to reach and move the multitude. 

"Mr. Jones has a vivid imagination, but his illustrations and met- 
aphors are simple, pointed and applied with a directness and pun- 
gency which the most obtuse can understand. The imagination 
which this eminent minister developed in his discourses shows that 
if he were ambitious for fame as a popular orator he could go flam- 
ing through the land, distributing meteors and rainbows while 
striding from cloud to cloud, mountain to mountain, and star to 
star. His eloquence, however, is simple and pathetic, reaches every 
avenue of feeling and sympathy. The eloquent bubbles that float 
and dazzle have no longer life than the cadence of the singer, but 
the chords that Mr. Jones strikes continue to vibrate upon the soul." 

Mr. Jones also held a service especially for the women. The 
great auditorium was crowded to its utmost capacity, and the wo- 
men of all walks of life were seen participating in the service. The 
Commercial-Appeal in speaking of this service, said: "Yesterday 
morning Court Street Church was literally packed with Memphis- 
ladies — even the gallery was full, and there was not a vacant seat. 
many were heard to remark that 'it was never so seen in Memphis/ 
and there was probably no one present who had ever seen such a vast 
audience of women. Except the pastors and Mr. Jones, there were 
no men present. Although Mr. Jones was not feeling well, he spoke- 
three-quarters of an hour, and held the undivided attention of the 
audience until the last word fell from his lips. He was listened to 
amid smiles and tears, and it could be easily seen that his simple, 
earnest, tender, original way of presenting things was taking deep 
hold on hundreds of hearts. He showed the auditors why they were 
not better wives, mothers and daughters ; why they were not better 



106 Sam P. Jones. 

Christians ; and then showed how in all these things they could grow 
and expand till they should sweeten their homes, save their husbands 
and raise up children to call them blessed. Any child of ten sum- 
mers could understand all he said. His illustrations were fresh, 
clear-cut, very impressive and long-to-be-remembered. There is no 
question that hundreds of mothers, wives and daughters went away 
from the meeting with a resolution deep down in their hearts to be 
and do better in all the relations of life." 

When the revival finally closed, it was the concensus of opinion 
that it was the greatest ever held in Memphis. Mr. Jones had estab- 
lished himself as an evangelist with marvelous gifts, and had won 
for himself almost national prominence in the religious world. The 
conversions and reclamations ran up into a thousand or more, while 
those who joined the different churches numbered more than six 
hundred. The city received a great moral uplifting, and was great- 
ly stirred religiously. The people began to take more interest in the 
work of the church and religion seemed to be on the increase. 

Dr. S. A. Steele, pastor of the First Methodist church, wrote an 
article to the Texas Christian Advocate giving some characterization 
of Mr. Jones's preaching. Dr. R. H. Mahon, pastor of the Central 
church, wrote to the Nashville Christian Advocate, calling attention 
to his gifts and graces. His fame began to spread in every direction, 
and before he had left Memphis he had received a great many let- 
ters from various sources, asking him to conduct revival meetings. 
He completely won the city before his five weeks had expired, and it 
was with great sorrow that the people bade him good-by. The 
Memphis Avalanche says : "It is not often that a strange minister 
can ingratiate himself at once into the good graces of a community ; 
especially is this true of the class called evangelists. As a general 
thing the evangelist is a compound of piety and egotism ; offensive 
in his mannerism, conceited with his prominence and affected in his 
preaching. Those who have been looking for any of these points in 
Mr. Jones are disappointed. His preaching is plain, earnest and 
true. He is every inch a preacher ; he has a message to deliver and 
he does so in words that reach the understanding and consciences of 
his hearers." 



Sam P. Jonss. 107 

■ Cartersville had heard of his success away from home, and was 
proud of the reputation that he had made. The Cartersville Amer- 
ican had the following tribute to pay Mr. Jones upon his arrival 
from Memphis: 

"Sam Jones is the greatest revivalist the South has ever produced. 
I never saw his equal. There is something very wonderful about 
the man. He can jump on a dry goods box on the public square and 
commence preaching, and in five minutes every barkeeper and street 
loafer in town will be listening. He can go to the darkest corner of 
Pickens county and the most ignorant man in the congregation will 
understand and appreciate his sermon. He can stand up before the 
finest city church, before the most intelligent audience and hold them 
spellbound by his eloquence. He can appear before a mixed au- 
dience in a theater and silence the hissing tongues and the loud 
laugh by the simple story of the cross. 'I have known him since he 
was a wild, rude, dissipated boy on the streets of Cartersville. Be- 
fore he professed religion and commenced to preach, he was as 
common as any boy I know. He has loomed into importance as an 
evangelist and revivalist until he stands now second only to Tal- 
mage and Moody. He is a pale-faced, spare-built, dark-skinned 
man, and would not attract the second glance from a casual ob- 
server. But when he speaks he catches the ear of everybody, and 
touches the heart of every listener. He is strikingly original, and 
his imagination is rich and fertile, his illustrations are forcible and 
pointed, his language is terse and strong, his appeals are touching 
and pathetic, and his powers of endurance beyond anything I ever 
saw/ So talked a gentleman in the presence of the editor the other 
day. Mr. Jones is a wonderful preacher. His recent visit to Mem- 
phis was attended with the most gracious results. Everywhere he 
met with a perfect religious ovation. We have read with much 
pleasure the press accounts of his preaching. We are proud of Sam 
Jones, not only because he is a Cartersville man, but because he is a 
true man, an earnest preacher and a friend to humanity. His mis- 
sion on earth is a grand one, and grandly does he fill it." 

Mr. Jones visited Memphis a great many times during his life. 
In all he conducted four or five great meetings in that city, an<i 



108 Sam P. Jones. 

never lost his prestige nor power. He held another great meeting 
in 1893 at the First Methodist church. This is one of the largest 
and handsomest auditoriums in the South. It proved entirely too 
small to accommodate the great crowds that went to hear him daily. 
The doors had to be locked at an early hour, and there was always 
more people on the outside of the building than could be accom- 
modated on the inside. They kicked down the doors once or twice 
trying to gain admittance. A great many of the prominent men 
who are now members of that church were converted or reclaimed 
during Mr. Jones's meetings. The Appeal- Avalanche published this 
editorial in reference to his second visit : 

"The Rev. Sam Jones during his sojourn in Memphis entertained 
large audiences, and has stimulated the religious sentiment of the 
-community in Memphis. It is understood that he has made more 
than two thousand converts. He came among us and scolded the 
people of Memphis for their derelictions. He spared none. He told 
us of our sins of omission and commission. He spoke in plain terms, 
and there was no mistaking his meaning. Let us hope that Memphis 
will be all the better for his coming. Our faults have been revealed 
to us and the vices to which we are given have been proclaimed. 
This is Sam Jones's way. Memphis has been handled without 
gloves, but the preacher has found a host of repentants to kneel at 
the altar. Mr. Jones has won great favor, as the crowd which 
flocked to the First Methodist church attested. His sermons have 
been as lightning purifying the atmosphere, though it may have 
been violent in its manifestations. Mr. Jones will go hence to spread 
the gospel. He will visit other cities. His language may be rude at 
times, but it will penetrate the hearts of men, and while the fastidi- 
ous may complain as they have always complained, the fact that he 
brings the sinful to confess their sins is sufficient to justify his 
methods. Who shall dispute, then, when souls are saved. He reached 
men who care nothing for creeds. He does not indulge .in doctrinal 
exposition. He does seek to persuade by argument so much that he 
actually moved the erring to acknowledgment of their moral ob- 
liquities, and forced them to their knees by revealing their moral de- 
formities. Who shall say that he does not fill a legitimate sphere 



* Sam P. Jonss. 109 

as a preacher ? Other "preachers may find success in other means 
for the form of humanity, but Mr. Jones attacks the citadel of sin 
in his own way. It is simply a question of results. If the two thou- 
sand converts or even a small proportion cling to the good resolves 
made by them under the spell of his eloquence the world is so much 
the better. Mr. Jones has had many hard things to say of Memphis. 
He has indulged in denunciation. He has attacked evil in the ab- 
stract and in the concrete. He has been general and he has been 
specific. He has wounded our spirit of local pride. He has pictured 
in vivid colors our wickedness. But he has done us good, and we 
may have the consolation that he assails other cities in similar fash- 
ion. We may not be quite so black as he has painted us, but no mat- 
ter . He has caused the people to look to higher and better things, 
and though he shall depart, his visit will be remembered as having 
promoted and advanced the well-being of the community. He is in 
some respects the most extraordinary preacher the world has ever 
known. He has spoken three times a 'day almost for a decade and 
a half. He rarely repeats himself to the same audience. Therefore, 
as an orator he is without parallel, so far as sustained effort is con- 
cerned. It is to be hoped that Mr. Jones will keep his eye on Mem- 
phis, and that he may return whenever he finds that the city has be- 
gun to backslide. Memphis seems to need Mr. Jones's preaching. 
This is come to be a general opinion both at home and abroad. The 
reformation that he has inaugurated should be permanent." 

He held meetings in the great Memphis auditorium which were 
truly marvelous in stirring up the consciences of the people and in 
bringing about a much-needed reformation. The immense gather- 
ings could not be taken care of at any time during his ministry in 
Memphis. No building with seating capacity ever so large would 
hold the great crowds that assembled to hear him. His last meet- 
ing was held in the First Methodist church, just a few years ago, 
and perhaps for religious fervor and deep conviction and bringing 
people into the church that was as successful a meeting as any held 
"by him in Memphis. Several hundred joined the First church on 
Sunday after the meeting closed, while the other churches were 
•strengthened by many accessions from the meeting. 



110 Sam P. Jones. 

In closing the chapter on the work in Memphis, we insert the 
testimony of the old sexton who commended Brother Jones's style 
of preaching, as it impressed him during his first meeting in the city. 
We will give the account as Mr. Jones told it : 

"A very laughable, yet forcible incident occurred during the 
revival at Memphis, Tenn., in Court Street Cumberland Presbyte- 
rian church one morning. The services had been going on for about 
three weeks with great power; hundreds had been converted and 
the churches awakened. The meeting was a union meeting, thirteen 
pastors and congregations, representing five different denominations 
were united in the fight ; and on this occasion we had what we called 
a talking meeting. The pastor of the First Methodist church made a 
short, pointed talk, in which he told how the meeting had been a 
blessing to him. Other pastors followed, and when the pastor of the 
First Baptist told how he and all his church had been blessed, he 
continued by saying that he had learned something about how to 
preach also. He said that in three weeks' preaching of Mr. Jones 
in that city he had not heard a single attempt on the part of the 
preacher to prove that there was a God, or that Christ was divine. 
There had been no hair-splitting on theology, or an effort to prove 
that heaven was real and hell existing, and so on. 

"After he sat down, old Uncle Ben, the faithful old colored sex- 
ton of the First Methodist church, stood up in the rear of the church 
and said : 'Brethren, you all know me. I have been trying to serve 
God from my childhood, and I have been greatly exercised in the 
last few years for the salvation of the perishing souls of Memphis. 
On my knees I have begged God to send just such a preacher as this 
to Memphis, though I didn't know who he was or cared who he was. 
Now, he has come, thank God for him ! He preaches the gospel so 
that every one can hear it ; he feeds me, he feeds the young and the 
old ; the learned and the unlearned. Our pastors have been putting 
the fodder too high. I remember when Brother Mahon was our 
pastor last year, I looked into his study one morning and he had five 
books lying open around him on the table, and I said : "Brother Ma- 
hon, if you get one sermon out of five different books, you are going 
to put your fodder up Sunday morning where I can't reach it ; for, 



Sam P. Jonss. Ill 

I said 'I've gone to church hungry on Sunday morning and come 
away hungry; fodder too high for me.' But this man of God 
scatters the fodder on the ground and we all can reach it, and we 
also relish it." And so Uncle Ben went on in his rambling talk until 
he had made as fine an argument for homiletics, many said, as they 
bad ever listened to." 



CHAPTER X. 



Revivals in Southern Towns. 

It was not possible for Mr. Jones to give his entire time to the 
work of an evangelist during the years 1884-5. At that time he- 
was the agent for the Orphanage of the North Georgia Conference, 
and had to devote much of his labors to that institution. He held 
revival meetings as often as his work at the Orphanage would; 
permit. 

In Georgia he held meetings at LaGrange, Newnan and Atlanta. 
These were the second visits toi these places. In Tennessee he held 
a remarkable meeting in 1884 at Jackson. After the first few days, 
the building was so small that it would not accommodate a fourth 
of the people who wished to attend the services. He was also at 
Charleston, S. C, during this period, and held a meeting that stirred 
the entire city. He visited Waco, Texas, and preached eight days, 
when he was taken seriously ill with malarial fever. The meeting- 
had grown in interest until there was no place large enough to ac- 
commodate the audience, and a great arbor had been hurriedly 
erected on the church lot, the money for the temporary building- 
was soon subscribed, and in a short while it was ready for use. 
The city which had: been so dead, religiously, was filled with re- 
ligious enthusiasm, within one week from the first service. Tire- 
conversions were many at every service, and sometimes there Were 
more than one hundred penitents forward for prayer. 

Mr. Jones had been preaching constantly for weeks and the heavy 
work in the open air was too much for his strength, and he was sud- 
denly attacked with fever and the meeting was postponed, but he 
finally recovered his health and returned to Waco and completed 
his work. There was an experience in his life, while in this first 
meeting, which is worthy of note. He had been battling with the 

(112) 



Sam P. Jones. 113 

disease, and the devil was harrassing him day and night, as he did 
Job of old. He seemed to say to him. "You will die right here; 
you have not enough vital force to live." He seemed to be present 
in bodily form. Mr. Jones replied, "Get out of this room ; if I had 
to go over it all again I would not work any less, but would spend 
more time and strength in my Master's service. I don't know but 
that my work is ended, but I am happy, and if I die I shall be happy 
forevermore." The devil left the room., and Mr. Jones in his suffer- 
ing was happy at the thought that he had worked hard and faithful 
to win souls to Christ. 

He held several meetings between Memphis and Chattanooga, 
which were remarkable in their results. At Corinth, Miss., there 
was a great work. The towni was known for its wickedness, and 
the meeting completely changed the tone of the place. Among the 
converts were some of the most abandoned drunkards in the city. 
The meeting took a strong hold upon the leading citizens, and 
many of them were converted and became useful members of the- 
church. Two-thirds of the population had been won to Christ dur- 
ing the meeting. The Honorable Mr. Inge, the Speaker of the Mis- 
sissippi House of Representatives, resided at Corinth, and was one 
of the converts of the meeting. 

Mrs. Inge had a son in Texas who was dissipated and; wicked. 
She prayed God to save him, and before the meeting closed he came 
home and was happily converted. He soori entered the ministry, 
and all over Mississippi the name of Rev. George Inge became a 
household word. He died a few years ago after a very fruitful 
ministry. 

One of the most thrilling experiences of his life occurred there. 
He had become so wearied and tired from constant preaching that 
one night going to church he said : "I am, so tired I can not stand 
up and preach this evening. I shall ask the people if they will 
allow me to sit down and talk to them," Upon announcing his 
text the baptism of the Holy Spirit came upon him, and when he 
had finished the sermon, and had concluded a long altar service, he 
went away from the church, saying: "I feel as if I were the best 
rested man on earth." That night in his room the Holy Spirit con^. 

5 j 



114 Sam P. Jonks. 

tinued to bless him, until he cried out : "This is glorious, the breezes 
of heaven are sweeping in upon my soul.'' For ten minutes or 
more these waves of blessing passed over his spirit, and for three 
months or more he didn't know the sense of fatigue as he labored 
day and night for the salvation of the lost. 

At Iuka, Miss., another marvelous meeting was held. A large 
bush arbor was erected in the grove. Seats were arranged for two 
thousand or more, and yet there was not room. The people came 
in on the trains from every direction, and the power of the Spirit 
was evident at each service. 

One of the most striking incidents of the Iuka meetings was the 
conversion of Dr. Hodges. Mr. Jones met him at the Springs the 
morning after he arrived. Dr. Hodges was a retired, wealthy 
physician, about fifty years of age, and a perfect Chesterfield in his 
bearing. His wife was intelligent and beautiful. They attracted 
Mr. Jones's attention, and as they left the Springs the pastor said, 
"Brother Jones, that man is an atheist and his wife is an infidel." 
They were regular attendants at the meetings. After three days 
Mr. Jones asked him to come to the altar and give his heart to 
God. Dr. Hodges replied, "You go back to the pulpit and read 
Hebrews n :8-9-io." Mr. Jones returned to the pulpit and opened 
the Bible, and read as requested, "By faith Abraham, when he was 
called to go out into a place, which he should after receive for an 
inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out, not knowing whither he 
went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, in a strange 
country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with 
him of the promise. For he looked for a city, which hath founda- 
tions, whose builder and maker is God." Dr. Hodges arose and 
went forward, giving Mr. Jones his hand, and turning around 
faced the audience and said, "I, too, like Abraham of old, will take 
God at His word, and start out for a strange country, not knowing 
whither I go, looking for a city, whose maker is God." The great 
audience was powerfully moved, and Mrs. Hodges arose and went 
to the front, throwing her arms around her husband's neck, and said, 
"My husband's God shall be my God ; his people shall be my people, 
and his burying-place my burying-place." They were both happily 
converted. 



Sam P. Jonss. 115 

In after-years, while Mr. Jones was preaching in California, he 
received a letter from Dr. Hodges saying, "My precious wife has 
gone on to 'the city whose builder is God,' and I am sojourning 
alone in 'the tabernacle/ " It was only a few years afterwards that 
Mr. Jones had a letter from a friend in Mississippi saying, "Dr. 
Hodges died triumphantly, and has gone home.'' 

At Tuscumbia, Ala., he held a large bush-arbor meeting. Three 
and four services were held daily, and people came in from all parts 
of the country. Some of the most remarkable manifestations of the 
presence of God were seen in that arbor meeting. The people mar- 
veled at the results, and perhaps the secret was not known to them ; 
however, it can be attributed to the earnest prayers of Mr. Jones. 
The great audiences that he preached to did not know how many 
times he wrestled with God in prayer before preaching. Just before 
the greatest manifestation of the Spirit's work, Mr. Jones had been 
very earnest in prayer. He was always a man who went to the 
throne of mercy for the anointing of service. His child-like faith 
enabled him to take God at His word, and it was his custom to pray 
briefly, unless he failed to get the assurance of victory. A friend 
of his said : "Mr. Jones, how is it that you do not spend more time 
in secret prayer, for I know you are sincere and honest, and a man 
of deep piety, but you do not stay on your knees as much as some 
other men claim to do." His reply was : "I go to the Lord in the 
morning for my orders of the day, and, having received them, I go 
about my Master's business. I don't run to the Lord with every lit- 
tle thing, but the good Lord understands me, and when He sees 
me drop down on my knees He knows that I want and need help, 
and always supplies it." 

There was a great crisis in the meeting, and he met it by a long 
season of prayer. 

The people had made all kinds of threats against him., so after 
the night service he walked out on the second-story of the porch and 
knelt down in a corner, the thick vines almost hiding him. He 
remained there until midnight, and yet no assurance of victory. 
The morning hours came, and he was still on his knees. He had 
not undressed or been asleep that night. The great audience as- 



116 Sam P. Jones. 

sembled for the six o'clock service ; perhaps there were twenty-five 
hundred present. He arose to preach, and such power came upon 
the people that the town was won to God. 

Another meeting was at Huntsville. A marvelous work of grace 
resulted. All the churches cooperated very earnestly in the work, 
and were greatly built up by the direct accessions from, the meeting. 
Here Mr. Jones had much to say about the liquor traffic. He went 
personally to a leading barkeeper in the town and said: "I will 
steal before I will sell whisky." The barkeeper got angry. Mr. 
Jones said : "Over there on that hill lives a poor woman. You sold 
her husband the liquor that made him a drunkard. He died in a 
drunken condition, and went to a drunkard's hell. One of her boys 
is now in prison, and the other one has left home because of his 
waywardness. I want to ask you, sir, which is the worst, to damn 
that husband and ruin that family, and break that mother's heart 
as you have done, or to steal money?" The saloon-keeper could not 
resist such logic, and turned away, saying : "I don't want to discuss 
the subject w T ith you." 

The conversions multiplied from day to. day, and the meeting 
reached a climax in a great service for the men. After Mr. Jones 
preached to them he extended an invitation, and one who was 
present said: "There were from one thousand to twelve hundred 
men bending their knees before the altar of God. It was the most 
remarkable event that ever occurred in the history of Huntsville. 
-It was a grand sight, and its solemnity impressed the most wayward 
that there was a God, and that He is ever ready to save and bless 
the unredeemed." 

One of the most remarkable conversions was that of a leading 
citizen, who took Mr. Jones aside and said : "I want to be a 
Christian, I want to love God and do right, but I can't believe in 
the divinity of Christ to save my life." "Shut your mouth/' said 
Mr. Jones, "don't come to me with talk like that ; do just as Christ 
told you to do, and if you don't make the landing I'll swim out to 
you and drown with you." "Well," said the man, "what would 
you have me to do?" Mr. Jones replied: "Come to the meeting 
to-night, and when I call for sinners you be the first one to come 



Sam P. Jones. 117 

forward. When the doors of the church are opened you join." The 
gentleman replied: "What, join the church when I can't believe!" 
"Now," said Mr. Jones, "I told you to keep your mouth shut, I am 
prescribing for you, and you take the remedy, and I'll warrant the 
cure.'' That night he walked up and joined the church. Mr. Jones 
said to him; : "Go home now and have family prayer, and come back 
to the service to-morrow, and I'll ask you to pray in public; I'll get 
you straightened out if you will just keep' your mouth shut." That 
night he had family prayer, and started right ; then Mr. Jones called 
upon him to pray in public, and he offered a very earnest prayer. He 
had started right, and a few months afterwards, when Mr. Jones 
went back to Huntsville for a special service, he said: "How is 
Brother Ford getting on?" The pastor replied : "He is one of the 
best members we have." "How is he on the divinity of Christ?" 
"Oh, he has quit all that long ago." Mr. Jones always believed 
that if a man would put himself in the right attitude for salvation 
that God would lead him into the light. It was true in this man's 
life, as in many others under his ministry. 

One of the ministers wrote a letter to> the editor of the Christian 
Observer, of Louisville, whereupon the editor answered in a very 
uncharitable manner. This called forth another letter from Rev. 
Flake White. It is such an unusual letter that we use a portion of 
it. Addressing the letter to the editor of the Christian Observer, he 
said : "Yes, I got your letter telling me not to write you any more 
rhapsodies of Rev. Sam Jones, revivalist, that when you wanted 
theology you preferred taking it out of deep old wells with a Greek ' 
bucket and Hebrew windlass. Of course I know that, and how 
scholarly your defense of a learned clergy has always been, but when 
you hear that almost every friend you have in Huntsville has come 
to Christ through this man, I know you will want to learn more of 
his ways. When Mr. Jones (I wish his name had been Thomas 
Aquinas, for your sake), came to us last night there was silence in 
the air, then there was a keynote from no uncertain trumpet, and 
we were all at his feet. There was such simplicity and unhesitating 
straightforwardness in his manner, as if the act itself was the law 
of God. It seems 'foreordained.'. Suddenly the man, who has 



118 Sam P. Jonss. 

quietly thrilled you, is making you laugh, and some roughs over 
there in the corner are applauding, and a moment later they are 
weeping. You can't help either the laughter or the tears. He makes 
Heaven so sweet and apostasy so sad, and tells the story so simply 
that our humanness bubbles over without measure. Suddenly he 
lifts his arm like a cleaving wing and Heaven opens, and he shades 
our eyes from the light as he tells us in panting words of its glories. 
You remember 'Old Martin' of the coal-mines. He says, as the 
tears run down his dark face, 'Mr. Jones has got sympathy for 
folks.' This is about the truth of the matter. He loves, pities and 
pleads with sinners, on his knees, and on his feet, while speaking to 
them, he is like a warm gulf-stream which melts them from their 
anchors and floats them past the tide of mortal to the sea of 
heavenly love." 

At Knoxville, Tenn., he conducted a marvelous meeting. While 
he was not in the city very long, the work was far-reaching. In 
order to make room for the people, he would preach to the women 
in the morning 'and to. the men in the evening. Some of the papers 
said foolish things in the beginning of -the meeting, but finally gave 
faithful reports of his sermons, which helped the work much. The 
ballrooms and liquor traffic received dangerous wounds; while 
they were not killed, they were considerably crippled. All pastors, 
except the Catholic and Episcopal, rallied around him to a man. 
Before the meeting closed the conversions numbered over five hun- 
dred, and more than four hundred had joined the different churches. 
There were great numbers who joined churches after the meeting 
closed ; however, the figures do not indicate a tithe of the good done. 
Knoxville had been converted, and the leaven of the Divine in- 
fluences had permeated the entire community. 

At Chattanooga he held one of the strangest and most peculiar, 
yet powerful, meetings in his life. Dr. G. C. Rankin, who was 
pastor of the old Market Street church, tried to get the ministers 
of the other denominations to join him in an invitation to Mr. Jones 
for a union revival. Not one of them was willing to enter into such 
an arrangement ; then Dr. Rankin invited him to hold the meeting 
in his church. The newspapers were soon full of the proposed meet- 






Sam P. Jonss. 119 

ing, and no little excitement was created by some of the stories 
circulated. One of the reporters said : "If Sam Jones cuts and 
slashes into society people, as we understand he does, during his 
meeting, we are going after him without mercy." Dr. Rankin said : 
"All right, I will have tables inside the altar railings for the re- 
porters, and they can have a fine chance at him." The day arrived 
for the meeting, and Mr. Jones and the pastor started to the church 
and found the streets packed for one hundred feet with people try- 
ing to crowd into the building. Finally they reached the pulpit, and 
after a song and prayer, Mr. Jones was introduced. He referred to 
the singing, saying: "You can stop that singing, I could take two 
or three negroes down in Georgia and beat all such music as that." 
(Laughter.) Then leaning on his hand and resting with his elbow on 
the stand in his inimitable style, he stared at the reporters for two 
or three minutes without a word. The congregation began to laugh, 
and for five minutes there was an uproar. Then, without changing 
his position, he said : "My! my! I would not mind being swallowed 
by a whale, but to be nibbled to death by such a lot of tadpoles as 
you reporters is enough to give a man the jimjams." The con- 
gregation was convulsed. Then he said : "Boys, I know the threats 
of some of you, and if you bother me you will hit the ground run- 
ning. I will have four shots a day at you, while you will only get 
one nibble a day at me, and if you can stand it I can." He preached, 
and at the night service the 'audience was still greater, and he said : 
"Now, the next service will be at six o'clock in the morning." The 
people went away feeling that no one would be present, but next 
morning before good daylight people were seen flocking towards 
the building and the church was full, and you could scarcely find a 
vacant seat. He preached four times a day, and the people were 
being converted at every service. The newspapers, instead of carry- 
ing out their threats filled the papers with his sermons, and editorials 
rang with his praises. The Associated Press took up his sermons 
and sent them broadcast over the land. 

It wasn't long until the saloon-keepers and the worldlings, and 
other sinners, were fighting the movement. The preachers, with the 
exception of Dr. Rankin, became scared, and Mr. Jones was asked to 



120 Sam P. Jonss. 

meet with the Ministerial Alliance. When the ministers got to- 
gether, one after another arose and said in substance, the churches 
are all going to pieces. After each one had presented his complaint, 
Dr. Rankin arose and said : "Brethren, I haven't a word to offer, I 
haven't a word to say, further than I have put you all on notice be- 
fore Brother Jones came that this meeting would reach a crisis, and 
all I have to say is, I'll die in my tracks before I!ll forsake him.'' 
During the entire meeting Mr. Jones didn't open his mouth, and 
finally the conference ended and each minister went his own way, 
and Mr. Jones went back to his room at the parsonage. Upon reach- 
ing his room, he knelt down by his bed in prayer. He remained on 
his knees for several hours. His assistant sat there and looked 
through a great stack of letters, until the room, became so awful and 
the picture so heartrending that he got up and walked out of the 
room>. Finally he went back and looked in again, and Mr. Jones 
was still on his knees. He walked off, and just about the time the 
sun was setting he walked back to> the door, and still Mr. Jones was 
on his knees. He hadn't moved since he first dropped down by his 
bedside. Later some one slipped in, lighted the gas in the center of 
the room,, and the last time he entered the room. Mr. Jones had 
risen and was standing under the gas jet with a countenance of 
utter despair, when, finally, he threw his hands over his face, and 
as with victory in sight, he walked down to the auditorium. The 
news had gone all over town that the preachers and citizens had 
asked Mr. Jones to change his manner of preaching. The streets 
were literally filled with people, and finally Mr. Jones got through 
the crowd and entered the building through a window. A great 
many of the society people, saloon-keepers, and friends of the liquor 
traffic, came out to see if he would retract his utterances. He began 
to preach, and such a power that followed that sermon ; gradually he 
led them along, until he saw his opportunity to let the people hear 
what he had to say. Finally, he exclaimed : "I know I have been 
preaching the truth here, and that I have stirred up the devil and 
his crowd. I have this to say about the liquor traffic : the man who 
will drink it is a fool, and the man who will sell it is an infamous 
scoundrel, and church-members who will rent their stores for 



Sam P. Jonks. 121 

saloons and will give their sympathy to the saloon-keepers, are 
bigger scoundrels than the red-nosed devil that drinks it, or the bull- 
neck scoundrel that sells it." Under these withering words those 
guilty in the great audience writhed in agony, and, finally, seeing a 
saloon-keeper drop his head, he said: "I don't blame you, old red- 
nosed devil, I'd drop my head, too." Then, standing erect, he said : 
"Physically, you are stronger than I, and you might take me over 
here to the river and tie my body to a rock and sink me to the bot- 
tom., or you might act a coward and shoot me down, but I put you 
on notice right here that you will have to do that before you will 
ever still my tongue. If you want to shoot now is your time — shoot 
— shoot." His dauntless courage and the anointing of the Holy 
spirit that had come upon him while spending an afternoon in 
prayer made his words absolutely irresistible, and from that night 
he had won Chattanooga, 

After that night the preachers joined forces with him, and the 
meeting was no longer confined to the old Market Street church, 
but adjacent churches were thrown open to overflow meetings, 
Mr. Jones would speak at one, calling penitents, then leave these 
with the workers and go to another church and preach to that 
crowd and call for penitents. Other times he would send those 
interested in their soul to a church several blocks away, and when 
the workers arrived they would find the building crowded with those 
who were seeking Christ. 

The meeting continued to grow in power until many of the most 
prominent men of the city had been converted, and when his time 
had expired the citizens besought him, to postpone other engage- 
ments that he might remain with them, for a few days longer. The 
friendship and love of the citizens of Chattanooga for Mr. Jones 
increased as time went by, and some of the warmest friends he has 
in the world are the converts of that meeting. 

At the close of the meeting all the churches received many mem- 
bers, and Dr. Rankin received one hundred and forty-eight, most 
of them men and grown young men. They are the bone and sinew, 
many of them, in what is now called the Centenary church. 

As Mr. Jones went down to the depot he passed the present 



J 22 Sam P. Jones. 

Centenary church, then nearjng completion, and turning to the 
pastor said: "Rankin, who is going to dedicate that church for 
you?" Dr. Rankin replied: "I guess one of the bishops." Then, 
said Mr. Jones: "Yes, that's the way you do; when you have a 
dirty job you want done, Sam Jones is good enough for that, but 
when you have a fine church to dedicate you want a bishop." 

A few weeks after that the official board decided to invite Mr. 
Jones to dedicate the church, and as half of them were converts 
of the recent meeting, Dr. Rankin reluctantly yielded to their wishes, 
with the understanding that Dr. J. B. McFerran would be on hand 
to assist. Mr. Jones preached for several minutes a beautiful and 
touching sermon, when all at once he did the unexpected thing. 
Looking around at the inside of the edifice, he said : "You fellows 
think you have done something great to build this new church. 
You think I am here to say nice things to you, but you have got 
the wrong sow by the ear." Dr. Rankin's heart sank within him; 
then, said Mr. Jones: "How much do you pay your preacher?" 
Nobody uttered a word. "I know you are ashamed to tell, but spit 
it out" ; not a <vord. Finally he said : "Tom Snow, what do you ' 
pay your preacher?" No response. "I know you don't want to 
tell,* but I am going to know." At last a rather subdued voice said 
twelve hundred dollars. Mr. Jones groaned until you could hear him 
in every nook and corner of the building. The audience went to 
pieces; the pastor was covered with confusion. After the uproar 
subsided he said : "Well, I know that's all Rankin is worth, but you 
ought to give the poor fellow something ; I stayed at his house about 
a week when I was here wi that meeting, and the Lord knows that I 
would have been glad if somebody had sent something around 
there." He then picked up the thread of his discourse and finished 
the mose helpful sermon. 

The next day there were two dray-loads of things driven up to 
the parsonage with jocular notes, and Monday night the stewards 
met and raised the pastor's salary to eighteen hundred dollars. 

So, often when Mr. Jones would go off on a tangent like that, 
people would imagine that he had spoiled the service, but the results 



Sam P. Jonss. 123 

that followed always gave evidence of the wisdom of such digres- 
sion. 

In after-years he held other great meetings there, which were al- 
ways attended by the thousands, and resulted in great good. 

In his last meeting there at the close of his sermon to men nearly a 
thousand, by actual count, came forward and gave him their hands, 
promising to lead the Christian life. He lectured in the city fre- 
quently, and also took part in a campaign against the saloons in re- 
cent years, which resulted in closing the saloons of the city at ten 
o'clock at night. 

The results of his preaching against the liquor traffic can not be 
estimated in this world. 



CHAPTER XL 



In Brooklyn with Dr. Talmage. 

It was in January of 1885 when Mr. Jones held a month's meeting 
in Brooklyn, N. Y., with Dr. T. DeWitt Talmage, in the famous 
Brooklyn Tabernacle. Soon after Mr. Jones's meeting in Mem- 
phis, Tenn., in 1884, Dr. Talmage was visiting in that city and 
heard of the remarkable work there. The people were talking the 
Sam Jones meeting to him, and he became specially interested in 
Mr. Jones and his work, and the unique and manly way in which he 
had preached in Memphis appealed to the noted divine. 

It wasn't long until Mr. Jones received an invitation from Dr. 
Talmage to conduct a meeting in his city. Owing to previous en- 
gagements, he was unable to go until the first of the following year. 
Mr. Jones was somewhat apprehensive of his visit to Brooklyn, as it 
wasn't clear in his mind how the aristocratic and fashionable audi- 
ence would receive him and his style of preaching. While they were 
used to the sensational preaching of Dr. Talmage, it did not augur 
that they would receive his plain, homely and blunt way of saying 
some things. The newspapers in the South and in Brooklyn and 
New York- had right much to say about the proposed visit. The 
New York and Brooklyn papers had printed and circulated some 
very ridiculous and ludicrous reports about him and his work. He 
left home in time to meet his Brooklyn appointment, arriving in 
New York City early Sunday morning. After he had had breakfast, 
he went over to Brooklyn, reaching there about nine-thirty o'clock 
on a dreary, rainy day, to find the great crowds making for the 
Brooklyn Tabernacle. Dr. Talmage preached Sunday morning, and 
the meeting proper began Sunday evening. . Before the morning 
sermon Mr. Jones met Dr. Talmage, and after a brief conversation 
and consultation they entered the pulpit together. 

(124) 



Sam P. Jones. 125 

The great sea of upturned faces and the magnificent sermon that 
Dr. Talmage preached greatly impressed Mr. Jones. He said it was 
one of the most powerful and spiritual of any he had ever listened to ; 
that Dr. Talmage was on fire with zeal and enthusiasm while de- 
livering the message of the morning hour. 

At the close of the sermon he announced that the revival would 
begin that evening at the usual time for service. He introduced Mr. 
Jones to his audience, and spoke of him in the very highest and most 
complimentary way. 

In the evening when Mr. Jones accompanied Dr. Talmage into 
the pulpit he was greeted by an audience that taxed the seating 
capacity of the building. 

When Dr. Talmage presented him to the audience he arose and. 
began his work in his characteristic way. In his preliminary re- 
marks he said : "Dr. Talmage has introduced me as the Rev. Samuel 
Porter Jones, of Georgia. Well, I am just plain Sam Jones. I am 
no great evangelist in the sense of Munhall, Moody and others, but 
I am a plain Georgia circuit-rider. I am a member of the North 
Georgia Conference, and received my appointment just like any 
other Methodist preacher. At present I am the agent for the North 
Georgia Conference Orphanage, and am permitted to conduct re- 
vival meetings wherever my services are wished. I am a Method- 
ist, but I won't find any fault with you Presbyterians and others if 
you will just co-operate with me in this meeting. Remember, I 
don't want your endorsement; in fact, I don't think it would be 
worth much to me, but just co-operate with me, and let's try to run 
the devil out of Brooklyn. I am afraid there is too much pride in 
this church for the Lord to do much for us. If you people and Dr. 
Talmage had as much of the grace of the Lord in your hearts as you 
have pride you wouldn't need a little sallow-faced Georgia preacher 
come and preach to you. I am not going to preach like Dr. Tal- 
mage ; I am going to preach like Sam Jones. There is no use in my 
preaching just like he does. If his preaching would convert you, 
there wouldn't be any room for mine." 

These words being received with considerable merriment, he then 
turned from himself and Dr. Talmage, and the crowd in general, to 



126 Sam P. Jones. 

the deacons of the church and asked how many of them really had 
any acquaintance with the congregation. He reminded the deacons 
that they couldn't have a revival until they became personally ac- 
quainted with the sinners and showed them that they had their soul's 
salvation at heart. After having preached for them, he pronounced 
the benediction, and the audience went away discussing his unique- 
ness, and expressing themselves as delighted with his first sermon. 
A sun-rise prayer-meeting was held next morning, in which quite 
a number participated. He preached again at eleven o'clock to a 
larger audience. Monday night there was something over two thou- 
sand in attendance. Mr. Jones in a letter says : "Our meeting last 
night was glorious ; some conversions. Dr. Talmage and his church 
are very hopeful and full of faith. The rain has ceased, and I think 
we will have better services to-day. Dr. Talmage and I spent the 
afternoon of yesterday together ; he takes to the meeting with all of 
his heart." On Monday after the first service Dr. Talmage and Mr. 
Jones walked over to New York. Soon Mr. Jones found himself in 
the office of Dr. Talmage's tailor. Dr. Talmage turning to the tailor 
ordered a handsome overcoat, paid thirty-five dollars for it, and 
handed it to Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones accepted it with thanks, and they 
walked off together without another word about it. This gave room 
for the story that has been widely circulated through the press of 
the country to the effect that Dr. Talmage was not pleased with Mr. 
Jones's pulpit appearance, and before his first sermon presented him 
with a suit of clothes and a silk hat, and Mr. Jones going before the 
audience and saying upon his presentation to them, "This is not 
Sam Jones, but the Rev. Samuel Porter Jones. This is not the suit 
that he wore here, but one that your pastor bought for me. This is 
not the hat I wore, but the silk one that your pastor presented to me. 
Now, if Dr. Talmage had as much grace in his heart as he has pride 
he wouldn't have needed.me to preach to you." This incident never 
occurred, but the gift of the overcoat mixed up with some utterances 
in his preliminary remarks was taken up by the press and much ex- 
aggerated and, like many other stories which were almost without 
foundation, went over the country. These exaggerated episodes 
never bothered Mr. Jones as a rule, and it was only occasionally that 



Sam P. Jones. 127 

he ever contradicted them, unless they had a decidedly bad moral 
influence. 

While the Brooklyn meeting was not one in which the great 
dailies took undue interest, he received very liberal and generous 
press comments. The Brooklyn Bagle had its reporters there, and 
sometimes gave verbatim reports of his sermon, and always had a 
good, lengthy account of the work. Their estimates of him and de- 
scriptions of his style and manner were very sane and creditable. 
They said in substance what the great papers of Memphis, Atlanta, 
Nashville, Charleston and other cities throughout the country had 
said concerning him and his work. 

The crowd continued to increase. Writing January 9th, Mr. 
Jones said : 

"Our meeting is growing in interest and power at each service. 
I look for great things. A score or more have already joined Dr. 
Talmage's church. There was no service on the first Saturday night 
and Dr. Talmage again preached on Sunday morning." 

Mr. Jones, in writing January 12th, said: 

"Dr. Talmage preached one of the most powerful sermons yester- 
day morning I ever heard. His soul was full, and he moved the 
vast congregation as you scarcely ever saw people moved. I 
preached with liberty last night to the house packed. This morning, 
Monday, at the sunup meeting, we had a good number; still the 
weather was awful — a rain and wind storm, the only kind that hurts 
a meeting here. We hold service again at eleven o'clock, as you will 
see by the card." 

Dr. Talmage, at Mr. Jones's suggestion, telegraphed to Professor 
Mcintosh, of Emory College, to come and take charge of the sing- 
ing. Mr. Jones was glad to have him, as he was great company and 
good help in the meeting. Plans were made for a great men's 
meeting to be held the following Sunday. The second week the in- 
terest increased, and the audiences grew larger and the papers gave 
more space to the meetings. In another letter, written January 14th, 
Mr. Jones said : 

"Our meeting is glorious. There were about fifty conversions 
last night. I look for great things from now on. I have the most 



128 Sam P. Jonks. 

and the best helpers here I ever had anywhere. Dr. Talmage's 
church is full of consecrated workers. Dr. Talmage is greatly en- 
couraged, and said last night's meeting was the best he ever saw. He 
says the revival is better attended than any one he ever saw held in 
the tabernacle." 

It was not convenient for me to go to Brooklyn with Mr. Jones, 
but the letters I received daily were full of urgent requests that I 
join him. Finally, the conditions at home were such that I went to 
Brooklyn during the latter part of his meeting. At most every 
service some of the number who were converted united with the 
church. Mr. Jones was constantly receiving letters from many 
places where he labored in the South assuring him of sympathy and 
prayer. This greatly encouraged him and he preached with unusual 
power the closing week of the revival. The largest audiences that 
he had addressed up to that time were attending his ministry. The 
people had become accustomed to his preaching, and were working 
earnestly for the salvation of the erring and lost. Dr. Talmage's 
church was greatly strengthened by the direct accessions -from the 
meeting, and the last Sunday night service was one of tremendous 
power and force. 

Standing there before the building packed and jammed, he re- 
lated in closing his sermon the story furnished him by his old pre- 
siding elder, Rev. Simon Peter Richardson, of the old ship going 
out to sea. Said Brother Richardson, "I was brought up near the 
beach of the ocean. We lived up on the hillside in sight of the 
beach. One morning I saw a grand old ship that had been swept 
up on the beach by the storm in the night. After breakfast I went 
and looked all through and over that old ship. I have been on that 
ship often. I have sat and watched the high tide — the spring tide — 
go in and surround the ship and rise higher and higher. 'Oh do, poor 
old ship, go out to sea!' I have said, and I would look out again 
and see that the tide had gone out and left the old ship high and dry. 
I have seen the tide flow out and come in and in until the old ship 
would quiver and tremble as if about to float away. 'Do go to sea,' 
said I, to the old ship, 'or you will crumble to pieces' ; but the tide 
would go out and leave the ship still aground. Finally, one morn- 




AUDITORIUM AT CHATTANOOGA. 



Sam P. Jones. 129 

ing, sure enough, that old ship had crumbled into ten thousand 
pieces, and was swept off forever." 

After relating the story he said : "My brother, your good wife 
has stood by and seen this high tide come in often, and perhaps to- 
night is the highest tide you will ever see. Old ship of humanity, 
do go out to sea to-night. The tide is up and around you, and you 
quiver and tremble under the pressure of this tide of grace that 
sweeps over you. If you do not go out, you will be stranded for- 
ever on the beach of eternal despair. God help you to turn loose 
and go out with this tide, and enter the haven of eternal rest. Will 
3 r ou, my brother, my sister, consent to give your heart to God and 
start?" When he extended the invitation, hundreds responded to 
his appeal, and the great and glorious meeting was closed. 

The Brooklyn meeting was like every other meeting that he held ; 
one of power and force, and was instrumental in bringing hun- 
dreds to the Lord, and in adding great numbers to the church. 

Upon his arrival at home, Mr. Jones received a picture painted 
by an artist who was present that night. The picture is one of a 
ship stranded on the beach, and the last tide gone out, and it is left 
to crumble to pieces. A letter followed in which the artist said that 
he was present that night and realized that if he didn't go out on 
that tide that he would be stranded for all eternity, assuring Mr. 
Jones that he gave his heart to God that hour, and expressed desire 
that he would accept the gift as a token of his appreciation for the 
illustration that had been such a blessing to him. The picture now 
hangs in our sitting-room, and Mr. Jones valued it as much as any 
one in our home, not because of its intrinsic value, but its asso- 
ciation. 

Dr. Talmage and Mr. Jones formed friendship that deepened and 
broadened during the years to follow. Mr. Jones was an ardent 
admirer of Dr. Talmage, while Dr. Talmage loved him and always 
spoke in the highest terms of the work done in Brooklyn. When 
Dr. Talmage made his last visit to Atlanta, he spoke of the meeting, 
in which he said that it was the greatest and best meeting he ever 
saw in Brooklyn, and that his people remembered, loved and cher- 
ished Mr. Jones for the great and lasting good he accomplished 
•during his mission there. 



BOOK TWO 



His Activity 



CHAPTER XII. 



That Memorable Mating. 

In speaking of the Nashville meeting, Mr. Jones always referred 
to it as "that memorable meeting." To him, it was the greatest 
meeting he ever conducted. It seemed to take a stronger grip upon 
the consciences of men and to extend further in its practical results 
than any other meeting he held. The conversions reached into the 
thousands, and the accessions to the churches in and around Nash- 
ville exceeded several thousands. 

In speaking of the meeting six months afterwards, the presiding 
elder of the Nashville district said he believed ten thousand acces- 
sions were made to the churches in Nashville, and within a radius 
of one hundred miles of the city. The great indifference that had 
settled down upon the church life and the great worldliness which 
had eaten the heart out of the religious life was practically broken 
up. The liquor traffic and all of the sins and vices which accompany 
it received such heavy blows that the result was a great victory for 
temperance, sobriety and right living. 

It is doubtful if there was ever a meeting held under such condi- 
tions and for the same length of time that the results were so ex- 
tensive and abiding. It will go down in history as one of the most 
marvelous works of grace of any age. 

Perhaps he was never so bitterly opposed in any work as that in 
Nashville. An invitation had been extended him by the Protestant 
Ministers' Association and he had accepted the call. This was early 
in the year 1885. However, there was just a little apprehension in 
the minds of the ministers as to the propriety of holding the meet- 
ings in an auditorium. Mr. Jones had asked that they arrange for 
a building or tent that would seat not less than three thousand peo- 
ple, and if possible would accommodate five thousand. Having: 

(133) 



134 Sam P. Jonss. 

failed to convince the ministers of the necessity of such a building, 
he compromised with them by making a date to spend one Sunday 
in Nashville in April. This would give the ministers an opportunity 
to hear the Georgia evangelist, and see whether he could draw a 
crowd too large for the churches. He preached three times on Sun- 
day, occupying the pulpits of the First Presbyterian church, the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and the McKendree Methodist 
church. The immense crowds that attended rilled the churches to 
overflowing, and hundreds went away without getting a sight of 
the preacher. 

In the "Athens of the South," Mr. Jones fired some of his biggest 
and hottest shots. The stiff and solemn church-members laughed 
in spite of themselves, while some of the fastidious were unmerci- 
fully shocked. The backsliders and sinners were held up to such 
ridicule and their backsliding and sins were so pictured to them, that 
they stood condemned as they saw themselves. Then his pathetic 
appeals softened and stirred every heart and the large audiences 
were completely broken up. The preachers hardly knew what to 
think or say. While they were friendly to the evangelist and desired 
to see a great work done in Nashville, they were really shocked, and 
some of them went away very angry, while others defended the 
bravery of the minister. Mr. Jones was the subject of the conver- 
sations of the majority of the people of Nashville. 

He went on to Knoxville, where he was booked for an evangelistic 
meeting. Great power attended his ministry there, and no building 
could accommodate the crowds that went to hear him. The con- 
versions were many, and the churches greatly revived. It was a 
marvelous work of grace. 

During this time, the newspapers of Nashville had been discussing 
me sermons of Mr. Jones. The editors had given their opinions 
and the reporters had given their views to the public. The columns 
were open to the friends and the foes of the evangelist. Probably 
the warmest month that daily papers ever had discussing a minister 
was the one that intervened between Mr. Jones's first appearance in 
Nashville and his return to conduct the great union meeting. One 
of the daily papers said : 



Sam P. Jonss. 135 

"Nashville is still buzzing over the visit of this unique evangelist. 
In the daily newspapers he has been assailed bitterly and defended 
warmly, and almost everywhere Sam Jones has been the principal 
topic of conversation, and still the stir continues. We have not es- 
caped condemnation for what we said in recognition of the good 
work done by him in many places, but the responses which have 
reached us are mostly approving. One good result, at least, has been 
attained. There is an unusual interest in religious questions in 
Nashville." 

The Union had the following editorial the morning that Mr. Jones 
finished his first visit to Nashville : 

"After listening to him attentively, we set him down as a 'crank,' 
his expressions in the pulpit surpassing anything we have ever 
heard. While not rushing to the defense of the pulpit, we have 
ever held it in reverence, regarding it as an educator in modesty, 
dignity, gentility, and morality. We must deprecate the lowering of 
its dignity so that the coarseness, vulgarity, slang, and positive mis- 
representations shall not emanate from it. 'Like priest, like people.' 
If Mr. Jones's style and language suit the good people of our city, 
then we can no longer rightfully maintain our boast that Nashville 
is the 'Athens of the South.' It is said that Mr. Jones has cancelled 
an engagement in Texas to visit here. It were better for him to 
reconsider his action. We are quite sure that he could exhibit to 
better advantage in Texas than here. Our people are past the. age 
of being ridiculed or abused into religion. Moreover, he defends 
his execrable grammar, his coarseness and his slang with: 'I am 
trying to get down on a level with my audience,' which is hardly 
the highest compliment that could be paid our people. We have as 
much culture, refinement and esthetic taste in Nashville as any city 
of its size in the Union, and that this so-called reverend gentleman 
should be permitted to say such things in our leading pulpits, and 
then be invited to come again, amazes us beyond expression." 

The next morning the preachers held a meeting in the Methodist 
Publishing House to perfect the arrangements for the proposed 
meeting. After hearing his sermons on Sunday, some who had been 
friendly to his coming now openly and bitterly opposed his return. 



136 Sam P. Jones. 

However, better counsel prevailed, and the committee determined 
to make preparation for the meeting. We give here an account of 
the ministerial meeting as reported, in the Nashville Banner. This 
will give our readers an idea of the condition of affairs at that time : 

"The committee appointed to arrange for a suitable place for 
holding the union services to be conducted by Rev. Sam P. Jones 
met in conference with the city ministers this morning at nine o'clock 
at the Publishing House. Dr. Leftwich was called to the chair, and 
Dr. McNeilly led in prayer. Dr. McNeilly afterward took the chair. 
Dr. Elliott said he didn't think that all of the preachers should step 
out of their shoes and step into those of Mr. Jones. Dr. Leftwich 
moved that a sub-committee be appointed to correspond with a tent- 
furnishing house, and ascertain at what price a sufficiently large 
tent could be had. This motion was not acted upon. 

"Dr. McFerrin said he thought they should have a tent, and, by 
all means, let Rev. Sam Jones come. He would do good, provided 
he could have the cooperation of the ministers. He had heard Mr. 
Jones twice, and he thought he said some things which would be 
better unsaid, and some things which could be said differently, but, 
on the other hand, said some wonderful things which went direct 
to the heart. He was in favor of his coming and would do all he 
could to help the meeting. 

"Dr. Leftwich said it was not the time to discuss whether Mr. 
Jones was to come or not. He was already invited. This question 
was settled and he would, therefore, move that a tent be purchased 
and a committee be appointed to negotiate for its purchase. 

"Dr. Barbee said he could not see the necessity of a tent. The 
crowds he saw at Mr. Jones's meetings were nearly all church-goers 
who attended various churches regularly. He did not agree with 
Mr. Jones, for he believed that the majority of the church-members 
in Nashville were Christians and making every effort in their power 
to live Christian lives. 

"Dr. W. H. Strickland thought the discussions regarding Mr. 
Jones were wise, and it was well for him to know of these things 
and the objections made to his teachings. He mentioned several of 
the Vulgarisms' which he, as a pastor and knowing his people as 
well as he did, could not endorse. 



Sam P. Jones. . 137 

"Dr. McNeillly said he was tempted to endorse Mr. Jones out 
and out. He heard him twice, and it did him good. There were 
some particular things said by Mr. Jones which he didn't endorse ; 
but, as an evangelist, he thought Mr. Jones a success and he favored 
a union service and wanted Mr. Jones to come. 

"The previous question was called, but amended so as to appoint 
a committee of five, who should procure a tent to hold not more than 
five thousand and not less than three thousand." 

The friends of Mr. Jones had access to the columns of the daily 
papers, and some of the most earnest and ardent Christians defended 
the evangelist in a manly way. A contribution of an "amused spec- 
tator" is as follows : 

"The writer has been an 'amused spectator' and a listener to the 
attacks made upon the Rev. Sam Jones. Now, while we did not 
hear the reverend gentleman, we have been at some pains to notice 
the reports both verbal and written. While we do not think his lan- 
guage savors of the first schools of our land, he certainly follows the 
example of his Master, Jesus ; and I must say he hits 'square from 
the shoulder.' If he misses the mark in attacking our Christian 
churches or their members, no harm can result to them. If not, and 
they deserve it, let them flinch and squirm. Our churches are too 
indifferent on many questions of vital interest to them. The liquor 
question, for instance. We see by one of the morning papers, since 
Sam Jones's accusation, it is found that out of eighty-one wholesale 
liquor-dealers, sixty-eight are sheltered in the fold of Christian 
churches in our city." 

During that month the papers were full of bitterest criticism and 
warmest appreciation of Mr. Jones. Other daily papers copied them, 
and in some instances exaggerated them until Mr. Jones became 
the most-talked-of man in the ministry. The enemies of Mr. Jones 
and his cause had the same access to the papers, and they were as 
strong and fearless in their denunciation of the man and his meth- 
ods as his friends were in their commendation of him. 

There had been so many evil reports circulated regarding his ser- 
mons in Nashville, that the pastors of the Protestant churches of 
Knoxville, Tennessee, where Mr. Jones was laboring in a meet- 



138 Sam P. Jones. 

ing, felt called upon to send a letter to the pastors in Nashville. We 
select a paragraph or two from this letter : 

"Brethren, for twelve days we have had in our midst, and preach- 
ing to us and our people, the Rev. Samuel P. Jones, an accredited 
minister of the gospel in the North Georgia Conference of the M. E. 
Church, South, laboring as an evangelist, and that we have had full 
opportunities to learn the tendency of his teachings and character 
of his work. By reason of evil reports, some of us at the first were 
prejudiced against him, but having attended upon his ministry four 
times a day for eleven consecutive days, hearing his discourses, 
which he has handled by the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, 
we have found no fault in him; while, somewhat as a matter of 
taste, we could have wished some things could have been touched 
in a different style and some matters illustrated by a less hu- 
morous incident, nevertheless, we endorse the soundness of the gos- 
pel he inculcated in general. We offer a prayerful testimony to his 
zeal for the truth, his jealousy for the honor of our holy religion, to 
his effort to glorify God, and his earnest love for the souls of men ; 
and we testify that his preaching has been evangelical and Scriptural 
and to the wonderful edification of saint and conviction of sinners. 

"His labors here have resulted in awakening professed Christians 
to a greater fidelity and zeal in the service of God, in public and in 
private, and in the establishment of many family altars, where they 
had never been erected before, and in convincing sinners of their 
lost conditions and leading them to flee for refuge to the hope set 
before us in the gospel ; and hundreds have given good evidence of 
having passed from death unto life. In his hands, the trumpet has 
given no uncertain sound. He has preached the word, he has been 
instant in season and out of season, has reproved, rebuked, exhorted 
with all long-suffering, he has shown God's people their transgres- 
sions, and the house of Jacob their sins." 

When he had finished his remarkable meetings in Knoxville and 
Chattanooga, he returned to Nashville to begin the much-discussed 
revival. A large tent that would seat about eight thousand was 
located on Broad street. The first service was held at three-thirty 
p.m., Sunday, May 2, 1885. Long before that hour, however, every 



Sam P. Jones. 139 

seat under the canvas was filled and the aisles were crowded, and 
there was fully two thousand persons standing on the outside of the 
tent. The board-pile and rafters of the foundation of a new build- 
ing being erected near by furnished additional standing room, and 
the crowd extended from the main entrance of the tent over the en- 
tire lot and down the street for over a half block. At three-thirty 
Mr. Jones pushed his way through the crowd, and finally succeeded 
in reaching the platform. 

Among the ministers seated on the rostrum were Bishop Har- 
grove, Rev. W. E. Cunningham, Rev. B. F. Harris, Rev. J. W. 
Lewis, of St. Louis ; Rev. W. B. Crawford, of Mobile, Ala. ; Rev. 
Dr. J. Witherspoon, of the First Presbyterian church; Rev. Dr. 
Sprowles, of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and the follow- 
ing ministers of the Methodist Episcopal church of this city : Rev. 
Dr. McFerrin, Rev. Dr. Leftwich, and Rev. Dr. R. K. Brown. The 
choir was composed of the members of the choirs of the city 
churches. Professor Mcintosh, of Oxford, Georgia, led the choir. 
Dr. McFerrin made the opening prayer, in which he asked God's 
help for the preacher, congregation, and the people of Nashville. 
He asked that the Lord would make the congregation feel the re- 
sponsibility that rested upon them in this hour, when so many thou- 
sands had assembled together and that everything that happened in 
the tent would be done in fear of Him who created us. His prayer 
was earnest, sympathetic and touching. The congregation then 
sang, "Take the name of Jesus with you." Afterwards, Mr. Jones 
was introduced to the audience and took for his text the first verse 
of the sixth chapter of Galatians : "Brethren, if a man be overtaken 
in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of 
meekness, lest thou also be tempted." It was a most appropriate 
text for the occasion, and Mr. Jones preached with all his earnest- 
ness, zeal and power. In closing his sermon he made use of the fol- 
lowing remarkable illustration of the battle of Franklin, and the 
capture of the fort called "Locust Grove" : 

"Now this incident, and I am through : We all love bravery. Ah, 
there is not a man living who does not admire a brave man, though 
he is his enemy. I want to refer to an incident of this last war. I 



140 Sam P. JonSS. 

am sorry about that war — sorry we ever fired on the old Union flag. 
I was too young, but if I had been old enough I would have gone 
with my father and brother and my six uncles and fought with all 
my might. But I will tell you this much — there is not a man who 
walks the American soil to-day that would fight for the old Stars 
and Stripes any quicker than I would this minute. (Applause.) 
God knows my heart. I am loyal to the flag that floats over Amer- 
ica, as I am loyal to the banner of Jesus Christ. (Applause.) But 
during this last war, you know when Sherman pushed his forces 
through Georgia, and when Johnston surrendered his forces in At- 
lanta into the hands of General Hood, that brave Southern general, 
who died since the war — a braver man never drew sword in battle 
— General Hood brought Johnston's army, you recollect, back 
through North Georgia and into Tennessee, after Sherman drove 
Johnston to Atlanta. There Hood took charge of the Southern 
forces and came back into Tennessee. You recollect that memor- 
able battle of Franklin, Tennessee. This instance, not historical, 
but in many respects true, illustrates just what I want to say to you. 
At the battle of Franklin, General Hood had his tent pitched upon 
a prominence, and he could overlook the whole battle to his right. 
As you remember, he had already lost one of his legs. While the 
battle was waging hot and thick, General Hood was limping up and 
down in front of the tent, and whenever he would turn and face the 
battle, he saw that there was a fort in a locust grove the Union forces 
held, and that fort was sending forth shot and shell and death into 
his own ranks. As he walked up and down in front of his tent, and 
every time he turned around he would see this volley of shell and 
death as it hewed down his ranks, and he watched the volley from 
that fort, and directly he called his adjutant-general. 'Adjutant - 
general, come here.' The adjutant-general loped up on his horse, 
and General Hood said: 'Adjutant-general, go and present my 
compliments to General Cleburne, and tell him, I ask at his hands 
the fort in the locust grove.' The adjutant-general loped off down 
to where General Cleburne's division of corps was, and asked for 
General Cleburne. They said, 'He is missing; he has not been seen 
in two hours'. We think he is killed.' The adjutant-general loped 



Sam P. Jonss. 141 

back to General Hood and said : 'General Cleburne is missing. They 
think he is killed. They don't know where he is.' General Hood 
dropped his head and walked up and down in front of his tent, and 
•every time he would turn he would see the volley of shell and death 
play into his ranks. Again calling his adjutant-general to him, he 
said, /Adjutant-general, go and present my compliments to General 
Cheatham, and tell him, I ask at his hands the fort in the locust 
grove.' The adjutant-general loped off down to General Cheat- 
ham's quarters, and they said : 'General Cheatham is not here ; he 
is missing. He may have been killed.' The adjutant-general hur- 
ried back and said : 'They think General Cheatham is killed also/ 
General Hood commenced marching up and down, and every time 
he turned he saw that fort as it threw out its shell and death. He 
stopped again, and said : 'Adjutant-general' His adjutant-general 
•came up to him, then he said: 'Adjutant-general, go and present 
my love (no compliments about this — go and present my love) to 
General Cockrell, and tell him I ask at his hands that fort in the 
locust grove.' The adjutant-general went down to General Cock- 
rell's division, and he said: 'General Cockrell, General Hood pre- 
sents his love, and asks at your hands that fort in the locust grove.' 
General Cockrell straightened himself on the saddle, cast his bright 
•eye down the line, and said : 'First Missouri Brigade, Attention !' 
and dropped his finger on the fort. And they charged with a fear- 
ful loss on that fort, and captured it and silenced the guns. And 
Cockrell called his adjutant-general and said: 'Adjutant-general, 
go and present my love to General Hood, and tell him I also present 
him the fort in the locust grove.' 

"Brethren of Nashville, at this hour, as adjutant-general of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, I point my finger at the citadel of sin in Nash- 
ville, and tell you that my Lord and Saviour presents you all His 
love, and He asks at your hands this fort that is desolating so many 
hearts. And I hope that in less than one month from to-day I can 
say, 'Blessed Christ, Nashville presents her love to you, and also 
presents you the whole city saved by thy precious blood. (Cries of 
"Amen.") O Lord, grant it. And I want every man and woman 
here to-day that wants to join in the warfare against sin, whether 



142 Sam P. Jonss. 

you are in the church or not, if you would be on the right side and 
try to win the city to Christ, I want every one that would see the 
city presented to God to stand up. Let every one stand up that 
says, 'I am in for bringing the whole city to Christ.' (Nearly the 
whole congregation arose.) Well, thank God, we have thousands. 
Very, few sitting, and thousands standing up and saying, 'We will 
take the fort for Christ' " 

At the close of the sermon the great audience was wild with en- 
thusiasm. It is doubtful whether a sermon ever produced such a 
profound impression. The people rose to their feet en masse, with 
tears streaming down their faces, declaring their willingness to help 
in the great work. It was one of the most thrilling scenes that mor- 
tal eyes ever looked upon. The picture is vivid in the minds and 
hearts of the older residents of Nashville even to this day. 

In the evening before the hour appointed for service, the people 
were seen going in droves toward the tent. By the time appointed 
for the service it was difficult to get anywhere near the tent. Mr. 
Jones came upon the platform rather early, and before preaching- 
made some prefatory remarks regarding the discussions that had 
been going on in the papers during his absence from the city. 
"Now," said he, "all that I ask of the papers and their contributors 
is that they give me a fair deal. You have acted cowardly in pub- 
lishing denunciations of me, without backing them with your name. 
I never pay any attention to an article with a nom de plume, for a 
nom de plume is nothing more or less than a turkey-buzzard with 
his feathers stamped off. Now, if you have anything to say about 
me, bud, just put your name to it, and I will take care of you. If 
you can say anything worse about me than I can about you, just 
'lam in.' " 



CHAPTER XIII. 



That Memorable Meeting (Continued). 

This manly and fearless way of addressing them made a deep 
impression upon the audience. They admired his courage and man- 
liness. He completely silenced those who opposed him, and there 
was very little condemnation in the papers during the entire meet- 
ing. Mr. Jones announced four services daily during his entire 
stay in the city. At sunrise he would begin the work of the day. 
He would preach at ten o'clock and in the afternoon would conduct 
a service and preach again at night. He then announced his text 
and preached a sermon in which "he swept the deck and burned 
the broom." All sorts of shams, hypocrisies, worldliness, covetous- 
ness, drunkenness, gambling and impurity came in for their share 
of the most terrific denunciation. What he had to say about these 
prevailing sins was unlike anything Nashville had ever heard before. 
He had his audience passing through all sorts of experiences, 
laughing, weeping, approving and disapproving. He showed his 
mastery of the situation by bringing them around to his way of 
thinking and sending them home agreeing with himi in what he 
had said. 

The next morning a large audience was out at the sunrise meet- 
ing, a still larger one at the ten o'clock service, and a still larger 
in the afternoon, and at night the tent was too> small for the great 
crowd, and standing-room was at a premium, while the curtains 
were lifted and the people stood in rows, eager to hear what was 
coming next. Such was the interest from day to day that before 
the meeting closed he was addressing as many as six thousand 
people at the early morning service at six o'clock. 

The marvelous victory that he had won in these first days com- 

(143) 



144 Sam P. Jones. 

pletely captured the press of the city. We give an editorial estimate 
from some of the daily papers. The American says : 

"Such is Sam Jones as he now appears to us, bold, honest, earnest, 
matchless in his command of an audience, fearing God but not 
man; loving religion and law, but despising the defeated wisdom 
of man and the conventionalities of fashionable society ; rough, but 
magnanimous, aggressive but unselfish, devout but not Pharisaical — 
a bubbling fount fresh from the bosom of earth; nature's own, 
without the artificial gloss of a high cultivation — a sort of moral 
diamond in the rough." 

The Union says: "This strange preacher walked into our city 
and attacked the vices and immoralities of social life and the evil 
practices of church-members like a frontiersman would fight a fire 
that threatens his fences and his barns. He spares nobody ; he pal- 
liates nothing because respectable people do it. Social amenities 
and a growing friendship between the church and people with 
doubtful practices are held up and exposed as the devil's handiwork. 
* * * Looking at him alone from a temporal standpoint it 
is well for the people of Nashville to hold up his hands. As a 
teacher of life's virtues, as an example of moral courage, he will 
long be remembered by the young men of our city and surrounding 
country. To speak, or not to speak the whole truth is often a ques- 
tion of policy. Under the teachings of public and political life the 
young man debates the policy of telling the truth. Mr. Jones is 
proving to young men of the country that policy goes to pieces 
before truth, and that with a good motive and a friendly feeling 
the severest condemnation of a wrong gives no offense. To be a 
coward before an audience and pander to a vicious public sentiment 
is weakness, and when it becomes common it is a calamity.' There 
can be no hope for a people whose public men are cowardly. We 
do not wish to be understood as sitting in judgment on the courage 
of the pulpit. We mean simply to say that Mr. Jones is displaying 
sound judgment and great courage, and at the same time a truly 
Christian spirit, in telling people plainly and bluntly of their short- 
comings. " 

The Banner says: "Rev. Sam Jones is a remarkable man, and 




REV. SAM P. JONES AT TIME OF NASHVITLE MEETING. 



Sam P. Jones. 145 

yet he is a very plain, practical man. It is, in fact, his practical 
views that give him 1 his power and influence. As Mr. Jones says, 
many sermons place sinners way out in some dismal swamp and to 
get to the way to heaven they must wade through mud and water, 
climb over logs, scramble through briers, and tramp weary miles 
before they come to the straight and narrow way, and then when 
they find it, in nine cases out of ten they lose the little path at some 
careless moment or during some dark night. Mr. Jones puts the 
route to heaven in a new and original light. He says there is but 
one broad road in the moral universe, and at one end is heaven, at 
the other hell. 'Everybody in Nashville,' says the preacher, 'is 
already in this road, and the way to heaven is simply in the opposite 
direction to hell.' 'If you want to go to heaven, sinner,' said the 
preacher, 'just stop short, face about and move off in the opposite 
direction from your present course, and you are on your way to 
heaven. If the Christian wants to go to> hell, let him, stop, turn 
his back on God and heaven and move off, and he will get there/ 
This is the way he simplifies repentance." 

The great work continued day by day, not only moving the lower 
strata of society but touching the most refined, cultured and intelli- 
gent people of the city, and the visitors from near-by towns. No 
preacher ever succeeded in getting hold of the thinking people of 
Nashville as did Mr. Jones. At some of the services he would 
throw the meetings over for testimonials. The most prominent 
people in Nashville had received good from these services, and 
were anxious to give their testimony. General W. H. Jackson 
related his religious experience and thrilled every one who heard 
him. The great soldier showed that he had fought a greater battle 
in his religious life than those he had taken part in during the war, 
in which he gained such a reputation for clear-headedness and cour- 
age. He said in substance: "My friends and brethren and sisters 
of the city of Nashville: I have never been more impressed with 
any service in my life than this, and I am here to-day to add my 
testimony, which is feeble and imperfect. I may have served my 
Lord and Master, but I want to say that no other life will do for 
any man or woman but his own. I am trying to do my best with 

6 J 



146 Sam P. Jones. 

all the temptations that surround me. Oftentimes during the war 
when I was unconverted, the fear of being cut off without any 
hope was to me a startling one, but I did not embrace Christianity 
then because I knew that the motive was fear, and I resolved if 
ever I got through that war, that I would change my course of life, 
not from fear, but from love and gratitude to God for the many 
mercies He had shown me, and for taking me through the danger 
which I had passed safely. 

"When I returned from the war I had never given a single thought 
to Christianity. I was reared in a life, that of a soldier, which 
removes men further from Christ than any other; but after the 
war closed I determined to investigate the subject for myself and 
satisfy myself as to the authenticity of the Scriptures. The strong- 
est work I have read on that subject was 'Greenleaf on Evidence,' 
from which Mr. Jones has quoted: 'Then I hesitated yet awhile 
longer/ and I remember the closing exercises at Jackson, Tennes- 
see, and Bishop Andrews, one of the most noble of men, while 1 
was still hesitating used this strong figure: 'There is a man.,' said 
he, 'who is revolving these questions in his mind, who* is yet unde- 
cided. He reminds me of a man who has fallen overboard from 
a vessel, and his friends who have solicitations for his safety have 
cast him a line and beseeched him to take it, and they would yet 
pull him up on deck and save him if he would catch the line. Just 
at that critical junction he stops to parley with himself, and discuss 
the question whether that rope will save him/ The moment that 
he said that, I went forward and gave him my hand, and I have 
faith. I, like my Brother Jones here, have tried life in all its phases 
and I have seen men in all their stages, and though I don't pretend 
to be perfect, I am often jostled from the paths .of duty and rec- 
titude, but I can say before God and man that my heart is in that 
direction and I hope to meet the duties of citizenship, and as a hus- 
band and father lead a life that shall bring us all to heaven if 
possible." 

As the meeting progressed the opposition passed away, the people, 
admiring the courage, earnestness and ability of Mr. Jones more 
and more each day. One of the papers, speaking from the people's 



Sam P. Jonss. 147 

viewpoint, had the following article, entitled, "What the people 
think of the new preacher" : "Another day of the new preacher's 
work has greatly increased the interest in him. The greatest inter- 
est is among the more thoughtful people. Men who* year in and year 
out attend to their private affairs, and talk only business, men 
who read books, and themselves, dispense information, scientific 
men, professional men, on streets and at their places of business talk 
Sam Jones, and they go and hear him. Going once they go back, 
and each succeeding time they go away more and more impressed. 
Among themselves they discuss his merits and his powers. These 
discussions embrace any peculiar features of the extraordinary work. 
One of these is the fact that no police are needed at the immense 
meetings. At night, the tent being rolled up, they may be called 
outdoor meetings. Fully ten- thousand people surround the stand, 
and yet there is perfect order. Nobody is watched; nobody is 
reproved. All prejudice on account of the severity of his language, 
the bluntness of the way of his illustrations, and the lack of clerical 
reserve in his anecdotes has given way. A strong prejudice created 
by some of the first sermons preached by him, has taken refuge in 
tears and prayers. 

"It has occurred to us that if Mr. Jones, in his first sermons, 
resorted to and used illustrations which were offensive to good 
taste, though pointed and pithy, for the purpose of arresting atten- 
tion and bringing out the people, he underrates his own powers. 
These illustrations to be startling — it is probably supposed — may 
be dashed with extravagant expressions, but they, it seems to us, 
weaken rather than strengthen his character. In this, we say, he 
underrates his own power. This is not necessary. In what we say, 
we have no reference to his humor, nor to the ever-recurring use 
of illustrations, which, under the power of his earnest eloquence, 
become not only chaste anecdotes, but gems set in the thread of 
thought. Without these he would not be the wonderful character 
he is, but a comparison may be made so strong that it becomes 
offensive, and then it is remembered as a mistake. 

"One of the most pleasing sights in the work which Mr. Jones is 
doing, is the outspoken sympathy and friendship of the entire min- 



148 Sam P. Jonss. 

istry. Of course preachers differed about his work, and about his 
methods. Preachers are in some respects like other people. Some 
of them have in them a god deal of human nature, and rivalry 
sometimes gets the better of their Christianity. But in this case 
there was a real question whether the new preacher might not tell 
too many anecdotes, and whether his coming was not a confession 
that the church organization was inadequate for the work. 

"But the new preacher has removed the last doubt; he has melted 
up their creeds and moulded them into bullets with which to fight 
the devil. And when he turns around and tells them to say 
'Amen/ they speak like they were all orderly-sergeants. They 
have manifestly left off their several church uniforms and are march- 
ing under the banners of church union, with Captain Jones for com- 
mander. 

"With the community at large, this unity of action is disarming 
criticism. The question among thinking men has been, when will 
Jones run out? Are his happy hits an endless chain? But three 
times a day he appears before a vast audience, pale and sallow, 
rather light of build, with an intensely thoughtful face, but with no 
signs of giving down; indeed, his physical energy seems to have 
increased with his work; and every sermon is on a new line, with 
a brand new set of anecdotes and illustrations, and with new 
thoughts; all as bright and sparkling as if they had been gathered 
from a lifetime work. 

"It will be well for the cause in which this extraordinary man 
is engaged, when the public comes to understand him better than 
they do. 

"His humor in the pulpit and his flights of imagination in illus- 
trating and painting the vices of men, as well as his own transit, 
as he tells it himself, from a bad to a good life a few years ago 
creates a doubt in the minds of some as to whether he is not 
meteoric, and to pass away into the darkness, though his life and 
works now penetrate like a headlight. * 

"What we would like to impress on the public mind is that his 
anecdotes and illustrations are parts of his fixed character ; that they 
are neither idle jests nor impulsive action. They are used for a 



Sam P. Jortss. 149 

great purpose; and further, that twelve years of faithful work 
without a break is a good guarantee of stability. These suggestions 
are prompted by a lively sense of the fact that the whole people as 
well as the church have a deep interest in a man of such wonderful 
powers and such rare courage. His influence may widen until his 
exalted courage may be a standard for men to> measure by. 

"But, nevertheless, there "are many thinking men who feel a deep 
interest in him, that believe the high pinnacles which he has reached 
is the edge of a precipice over which he may fall when the praises 
and the flattery of men undermine his humility. To guard against 
this is his own work." 

The newspapers were devoting much time and space in reporting 
these wonderful meetings. While he was preaching to great audi- 
ences in the tent, there were also thousands being reached by the 
press. Here is where it first appeared that the press could not report 
Mr. Jones adequately. In spite of the best reports, they failed to do 
him justice. This was true down to the close of his life. One of 
the papers, in speaking of this very fact, used the following : 

"People who hear the great Georgia evangelist from day to day, 
and then read the newspaper reports of his sermons, complain that 
the reports do not do him justice, and this is true. No report of his 
sermons, even if we had the space to give every word, would do 
him justice. Besides his words, there is a magnetism about him 
which becomes a part of the sermon, but this is not the main trouble 
about the reports. Many of his expressions are harsh. They are 
strong and harsh. These the reporter catchesi and utilizes because 
they are so striking that they could not be. overlooked. The soft 
and mollifying words which accompany them, and the true Chris- 
tian spirit in which these utterances are made do not and can not 
aeompany the report. Mr. Jones is now being thoroughly discussed 
in the cities. Every class of people seem to be busy in asking and 
answering questions about him, but it is not gossip in bad sense. 
The expressions are nearly all kindness. The voice of the com- 
munity, however, is well-nigh universal in its praise for the courage 
with which he condemns evil practices and the boldness with which 
he declares the law, regardless of the station in life where the prac- 



150 Sam P. Jones. 

tices are found. People love a courageous man, and this refined 
community first settling that he is a good man, are enthusiastic 
over his boldness in speaking the truth." 

This great revival continued for three weeks. Mr. Jones held a 
number of special meetings for men and women which were largely 
attended, and resulted in great good, and in the salvation of hun- 
dreds of souls. He also preached before the State Legislature. 

The Banner says: "The Forty-fourth General Assembly may 
heartily appreciate the compliment bestowed by Rev. Sam Jones 
upon their distinguished body. He not only carried the gospel up 
Capitol Hill in his person, but dispensed the bread of life in lan- 
guage chaste and eloquent. There was not a word of slang, nor 
even an illusion by its uglier name to that place which Bob Ingersoll 
says 'has no local habitation.' There is a marked resemblance, not 
alone in facial organs and expressions, but in size and build, between 
General Basil Duke and Mr. Jones. One might by more than a 
casual acquaintance be taken for the other. 

"The General Assembly should seriously consider one of his sug- 
gestions at least. It was his denunciation of the policy of incarcer- 
ating boys in the State prison with confirmed criminals. It is a 
policy by which the State helps along to perdition her first offenders 
whom an orphan asylum or house of refuge might save as worthy 
members of society. 

"There are business men now in Louisville, who, if they had been 
sent to the State Prison (as Tennessee consigns her infant crim- 
inals), at tender age for the first offense, would be in the Kentucky 
penitentiary to-day. A great deal of his talk was on 'Intemper- 
ance,' and his views were very sane and sound. He created quite 
a favorable impression upon that august body." 

One of the most remarkable converts of this great meeting was 
Captain Tom Ryman. As Mr. Jones often said, there has been no 
more wonderful convert to God in the nineteenth century than Tom 
Ryma.n, of Nashville. He went to the meeting as others did, came 
to the altar, knelt down like a child and gave his heart to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. He was an old steamboat captain, who owned a num- 
ber of steamboats which plied the Cumberland River, and" consid- 



Sam P. Jon^s. 151 

erable property along the wharf, and in one of his large buildings 
he had a large saloon. He had a bar on each of his steamboats, 
and was known as a man of wealth. He was brought to Christ by 
the preaching of Mr. Jones, and became a, Christian in dead earnest. 
He cleaned out the bars on his steamers, tossed his liquors over- 
board. His saloon was converted into a hall for religious and tem- 
perance meetings, and was christened "Sam Jones Hall." He also 
changed the name of one of his largest and finest steamers to the 
"Sam Jones." 

In this mission hall there was held a service every night. Cap- 
tain Ryman employed mission workers to preach the gospel to the 
fallen. The mission was located in one of the worst districts of 
Nashville, and drunkards, gamblers and the fallen assembled night 
after night to hear the simple story of redeeming love. He put 
forth as much effort to save the erring and fallen 1 after his conver- 
sion, as he did to drag down and debauch and damn them before 
he found the Savior. The good work of the mission will abide for 
years to come. Instead of having cards and liquor on the steamers, 
he made room for the Bible, and found time for prayer-meetings. 
The gospel was preached as effectively by example and precept on 
the steamers day by day as in the mission hall by night. 

The great building known as "The Jones-Ryman Auditorium," 
which is considered the finest and handsomest auditorium in the 
South, was built by the inspiration of Mr. Jones, with the financial 
aid of Mr. Ryman. A* few years since Mr. Ryman died and his 
funeral service was conducted by Mr. Jones at the auditorium. At 
the memorial service held in the auditorium; in memory of Mr. 
Jones, a rising vote of the thousands packed into the building, 
changed its name to "The Jones-Ryman Auditorium," in honor of 
Mr. Jones, who inspired it, and the other who executed the plan. 

There was such interest manifested in Mr. Jones and his welfare 
that an effort was made to have him, make Nashville his permanent 
home. The citizens offered to give him a handsome home in the 
city. We print the letter tendering Mr. Jones this home : 



152 Sam P. Jones. 

"Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 1885. 
"Rev. Sam P. Jones. 

"Our Esteemed Friend and Brother: As the chosen in- 
strument of God through the power of His grace and the 
Holy Spirit, you have done a great work in this city in 
arousing the people from their lethargy in the conversion of very 
many souls, and in the good seed sown, which will surely bring 
forth an abundant harvest hereafter and cause the lilies of peace to 
spring up at the feet of many and the glory of heaven to beckon us 
all on ; as appreciative of your work, and believing as we do that this 
central city, the educational and religious, point of the South, would 
be a better location for yourself and family, we, the undersigned 
committee, representing subscriptions from all classes, races and 
occupations of our community, tender you a home in our midst, and 
sincerely hope that no field other than the best location for the pro- 
duction of your glorious work will decide your answer. 

Trusting it will be favorable to an acceptance of your removal 
here, we remain, with the best wishes of our hearts for continued 
happiness, peace and comfort to* you and yours. 

Very sincerely, 

W. H. Jackson, Chairman. 
J. Horton Fai.Iv, Secretary." 

Interested gentlemen had obtained subscriptions to the amount 
of ten thousand dollars, which would be expended in purchasing him 
a home if it would be accepted as a permanent residence. The letter 
was handed to the evangelist at the residence of Captain T. G. 
Ryman, where he was invited to dine. About thirty gentlemen were 
present when Mr. Jones broke the envelope. Its generous contents 
quite unmanned him and tears gathered in his eyes when he knew the 
deep meaning which the offer expressed. In response, he wrote as 
follows : 

"NashvtUvE, Tenn., May 27, 1885. 
"Gen. W. H. Jackson, Chairman. 

"Dear Sir and Brother : Your communication of this date was 
duly received. I have gratefully and prayerfully considered its con- 



Sam P. Jonks. 153 

tents. It pains me deeply to say to such generous friends whom I 
love so much that to leave my home and State involves more to me 
than I feel authorized to^ assume. My wife feels the same gratitude 
herself, and her judgment has always controlled me as her prayers 
have sustained me, and she, for reasons which control a mother's 
heart, with six children to care for in the continued absence of hus- 
band and father, is disinclined to the move. You, sir, and the noble 
people of Nashville shall ever have our prayers. 

"I am yours with my eyes full of tears and my heart full of 
gratitude. 

Sam P. Jones." 

Before leaving the city arrangements were made for him to return 
at an early date and raise money to put the Y. M. C. A. upon a 
safe basis, The management had anticipated that they could not 
erect a building of more cost than thirty thousand dollars. The 
donations began to pour in and the amount was so 1 encourag- 
ing that it soon developed the fact that a much larger sum 
could be realized. The hundreds rolled up rapidly and in- 
terest deepened every moment. In half an hour Secretary 
Humes announced that fifteen thousand dollars had been prom- 
ised. The statement gave an impetus to contributions, and a 
-contract subscription book. The appeals of Mr. Jones were used to 
marked effect, and contributions flowed freely. When the total 
-reached twenty-five thousand dollars the excitement grew intense. 
At half-past ten o'clock the subscriptions had run to a still larger 
sum and solicitations closed for the night. The handsome Y. M. 
C. A. that now means so much to the young manhood of Nashville 
was put upon a permanent basis through the generosity and inspira- 
tion of Mr. Jones. 

Near the close of this great revival the people began to raise the 
question "Will it last?" One of the papers answered , it in this way: 
"The meetings have been going on for about twenty-one days, dur- 
ing which time Mr. Jones has preached three or four times a day. 
At the time of this writing, six o'clock in the evening, the crowd at 
the gospel tent is a sight to look at, the whole city being in the 



154 Sam P. Jonss. 

notion to take part in the last services. The effect upon this com- 
munity has been wonderful, and the question constantly is asked,. 
'Will the work the evangelist has done last?' But, to determine 
this question, the nature and the character of this work must be 
considered. We are not now considering the question of con- 
version, whether the hundreds who have professed religion have 
been genuinely converted ; outside of this, over and above the actual 
conversions, the preacher has impressed the community as it was 
never done before. Men and women of all grades of society have 
been affected. This is not emotional. Hundreds of men have quit 
swearing. Many men who drank publicly have quit it, and there 
is in the minds of all our best citizens that the city is in a better 
condition, so far as the morals of society and the habits of men are 
concerned. The best evidence that the work will be lasting is found 
in the fact that all our best citizens are rejoicing in the change and 
in the fact that a great many men hitherto on the wrong side have- 
openly and before the world changed front. Whether this work 
shall last depends in some measure on the future life of him who< 
performed it. Mr. Jones will leave Nashville with the eyes of fifty 
thousand people following him. As long as our good people can turn 
to him, to his growing fame, and say he is still humble, he is still a> 
devout man, he still practices what he preaches, they will, with 
pleasure and pride acknowledge his precepts, recognize his leader- 
ship and uphold the moral structure which he has erected. Judging 
from his lofty bearing, great intellectual strain, and unostentatious 
piety, there is every reason to believe he will not fall." 

In closing the account of the great work in Nashville, we wish 
to include an editorial that appeared in the Christian Advocate, May 
30, 1885. As Mr. Jones was a Methodist and the Advocate the- 
general organ of the M. E. Church, South, it seems fitting that this 
editorial estimate should be inserted at the close of this chapter. It 
is impossible to publish the entire account, as it covers four columns, 
in the Advocate. We insert the first two paragraphs : 

"Sam Jones 'has the floor.' His sayings and doings are the cur- 
rent subject of conversation, not only in Nashivlle, but all over ther 
immense region of which it is the geographical and literary center.. 



Sam P. Jonks. 155 

He is the man of the hour. His preaching in Nashville during the 
past two weeks has been attended by unprecedented, crowds, and with 
the most extraordinary results. Drunkards have renounced their 
liquor-drinking; gamblers have given up their evil occupation; 
church-members, convicted of complicity with sin, have broken off 
from wrong courses; thousands of persons of all ages, sexes, and 
grades of -society have publicly announced their purpose to give up 
their sins and lead better lives. The Tennessee newspaper press 
has discussed the man editorially ; all concede his remarkable power, 
but differ in their analysis of its constituent elements. With 
scarcely an exception they accord to him not only genius of a rare 
•quality but evident honesty and glowing zeal for God and love to 
man. 

"The pastors and Christian people of the various churches of 
Nashville have heartily co-operated with the evangelist in his 
labors, and while this is a season of salvation for sinners it is a love- 
feast for the saints. Presbyterians, Baptists, Disciples, Cumber- 
land Presbyterians, and Methodists, are all united in the great 
revival, their pastors sitting together on the platform; in the big 
tent, and working together in conducting the exercises of singing, 
praying, and instructing inquirers. This feature of this wonderful 
occasion is especially gratifying to us. Christians must come closer 
together and work more unitedly before they bring the world to 
Christ. These union services in Nashville under the leadership of 
'Sam' Jones point in this direction. Greater things than these will 
be seen before this generation passes. But he must be seen and 
heard to be appreciated." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



In Missouri and St. Louis, 

After Mr. Jones left Nashville, he conducted several brief meet- 
ings in smaller cities, and visited some camp-meetings and Chau- 
tauqua assemblies. In July, 1885, he held a great tent-meeting at 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The influence of his work in Nashville 
had extended to Murfreesboro, and he found a religious atmos- 
phere when he began the work there. While the opportunities were 
not as large as those in Nashville, the work was intensely spiritual,, 
and the whole town practically converted. Some of the most promi- 
nent men were reached, and many of the most wicked, including- 
barkeepers, were converted. One morning just after the early 
prayer-service, a leading saloon-keeper hauled his liquor down to 
the station and sent it back to the wholesale house in Nashville, and 
abandoned the business altogether. The audiences were immense,, 
people coming from Nashville and the surrounding country, 
and the town was completely revolutionized. He went over to 
Monteagle Assembly and preached a few times before the great 
chautauqua. From there he visited High Bridge (Kentucky) camp- 
meeting, and spent a few days. His ministry was attended by thou- 
sands at this famous camping-ground. Many were converted, while 
others refused to yield to Christ. One of the saddest incidents con- 
nected with his preaching there followed one of his earnest sermons, 
when a young stalwart fellow who had been standing listening for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, turned with an oath on his lips, and said 
that he had enough of that. He walked down to the station and 
stood but a few minutes, when a train came along. He grabbed at 
the ladder at the side of the car, missed his balance and fell, and the 
wheels crushed him, and he was in the presence of God in less than 
twenty minutes from the time that he turned with an oath upon his, 
lips. 

(156) 



Sam P. Jones. 157 

Part of August was spent in Cartersville, at his tent-meeting, 
which had been inaugurated the year before. 

His first work in Missouri was at Plattsburg. He had spent a 
few days there in July, at the camp-meeting, and returned in Sep- 
tember to hold revival services. The committee in charge of the 
camp-meeting asked him to come there ten years in succession, and 
promised to make any kind of preparation that he might wish. He 
agreed, if possible, to visit their annual gathering, and for several 
years had charge of the great camp-meeting at the famous Mineral 
Springs. The revival that he conducted in the fall was in many 
respects one of the greatest in his life. He repeatedly preached to 
ten thousand people, and frequently there were at least twenty thou- 
sand who were trying to hear him. Thousands of these hearers 
were converted, and the atmosphere of the town and surrounding 
country was wonderfully purified. 

Before leaving Plattsburg, he preached his famous sermon on 
"Prisoners of Hope." There were three or four special newspaper 
reporters from St. Louis and other leading cities, and during the 
sermon they forgot to report his words, and for ten or fifteen min- 
utes sat there with their mouths wide open. When he went back 
to his tent, he locked the door, and those reporters beat and banged 
on the door to get him to reproduce that part of the sermon which 
they had lost. He seemed to be inspired while covering that im- 
pressive part of his sermon, and spoke as he never did before, or 
since, about the immortal life of his sainted mother. He described 
how she died, and the impression that death made upon his youthful 
mind. He pictured a long, weary journey back to the graveyard 
where she was buried. He said, "I must see her again, must look 
into her eyes and see her sweet form." In his imagination he stood 
there, with a shovel in his hand, opening the grave, and with each 
shovel of dirt, he would say, "I must see my mother again." He 
went through all the motions. Finally, he reached down with both 
hands, and picked up a handful of dust, and standing there in the 
most dramatic way — Booth himself never saw the day he could have 
equaled it — and such a look of disappointment that came over his 
face, as he stood there speechless for a moment. He said, "Is that 



158 Sam P. Jonss. 

my mother? Is that all that is left of my precious mother?" How 
awful was the suspense of that moment. Slowly he moved his posi- 
tion, and standing under the arc light, he looked away towards 
heaven, and a smile came upon his face, then he exclaimed : "Yes, 
I shall see my mother again." Repeating Paul's words, "This cor- 
ruption shall put on incorruption ; this mortal shall put on immor- 
tality," with his face radiant, he said : "In the light of this beautiful 
scripture, my mother is transformed into an angel of light, and she 
hovers over me on loving pendant wings, and beckons me up to her 
home on high, where I shall see my mother again." 

The next great meeting was at St. Joseph. One of the largest 
tents that could be had was secured, and the attendance from the 
city and adjoining towns was as large as at Plattsburg. The most 
prominent men, including physicians, lawyers, judges, and million- 
aires were converted at this meeting. A very striking story appeared 
in the morning paper to this effect : "Jones is not doing much with 
the thirty." Next morning the papers said : "The thirty were pretty 
well represented at the meeting." Mr. Jones said to some friends, 
"What does this thirty business mean?" "Oh," they replied, "there 
are in this city thirty millionaires; thirty men in the world worth 
over one million." While some of those men were true, noble, gen- 
erous Christians, the majority of them were not, and the meeting 
did not make much impression upon them, as the spirit of the work 
was in conflict with their lives. However, some of them were finally 
converted, and joined the church. Mr. Jones said to one of the 
wealthiest of them : "Well, my brother, you have disposed of your 
soul, you have given it to God, but you have a heap harder job left 
before you what to do with your money. You had better begin to 
unload now. Shell down the corn, for if you are ever damned, it 
will be by your money. Mark what I tell you. If I had one-tenth 
of the money some of you men have in this town, and did not do 
any better with it than you do, the devil would get me as certain as 
my name is Sam Jones, and if you have got as much sense as I have, 
and you don't get up from where you are, the devil will get you sure ; 
you can put that down." This is just one of the many remarkable 
incidents that happened at St. Joseph. A very substantial result of 



Sam P. Jones. 159 

the meeting was raising the money for a handsome Y. M. C. A. 
building. 

It was in St. Louis where Mr. Jones waged the greatest battle 
in Missouri, He went there on the sole invitation of Dr. W. V. 
Tudor, pastor of the Centenary Methodist church, sustained by the 
official board and congregation of that church. 

The meting began in the Centenary Methodist church, on Sun- 
day morning, in November of 1885. Dr. Tudor met Mr. Jones at 
the station, and about the first thing that happened after the preach- 
ers shook hands was an incident that was typical of Mr. Jones. The 
inevitable reporter was on hand, and playfully intimated that his 
paper intended to deal with Mr. Jones. The preacher's reply was: 
"Pitch in, brother; there is nothing I despise more than a dull 
time." Mr. Jones was entertained at the home of Dr. Tudor. 

It wasn't long after his arrival in St. Louis until Mr. Jones had 
a hold upon the city, and the other churches were opened for serv- 
ices. The preachers were cooperating and uniting in the meetings. 
From first to last he had the ear of the people, as no other man rarely 
had. The crowds at the church were so large that one could scarcely 
get standing-room. The prominent preachers gave their support 
and endorsement to the great work of Mr. Jones. 

The day services were continued in the different churches. Some 
of the services were held at the St. John Methodist church; others 
at the Compton Avenue Presbyterian church, and still others in the 
Centenary Methodist church, where the meeting began. Great 
crowds thronged these respective places of worship every day. A 
very amusing little incident happened at one of the day services in 
Centenary church. It is an example of the exquisite aptness and 
humor of Mr. Jones's illustrations. He was conducting an expe- 
rience meeting one afternoon. Finally, a godly woman stood up 
and gave one of the sweetest of testimonies, which was backed by 
her faith and piety. But before she sat down, as was usual with 
her she fell into the falsetto, which she called shouting, and pres- 
ently remarked, "Brother Jones, Dr. Tudor doesn't like to hear me 
shout. Whenever I do, he 'rings' me down." As the good old wo- 
man resumed her seat, Brother Jones said, "Well, sister, I do not ob- 



160 Sam P. Jones. 

ject to shouting, but some people when they shout are like a little 
steamer I know of on the Coosa river, in Alabama. She has a big 
whistle, but a very small boiler, and every time she blows her whistle 
she stops — she can't blow and run at the same time." 

St. Louis was the largest city in the South or Southwest that Mr. 
Jones had visited. However, he had held meetings in larger cities, 
as he had been in Brooklyn with Dr. Talmage. The great "Metrop- 
olis of the Southwest," with its great national dailies, furnished him 
a larger scope and a greater field than any other city he had visited. 
The wickedness and sinfulness of the city furnished him with ma- 
terial he had not run across heretofore. While the opportunities 
were the very greatest, there were many difficulties that had to be 
confronted. 

The newspapers of St. Louis did a great deal toward keeping 
Mr. Jones and his work before the public. The Globe-Democrat 
was in a position to give him greater publicity than the Memphis or 
Nashville papers, where he had held the two greatest meetings of 
his life. The editor of the Globe-Democrat liked Mr. Jones and 
published verbatim reports of his sermon. The editorial comments 
were very favorable. This paper brought him into greater promi- 
nence than any other one had up to that time. In later years the 
newspapers claimed that they had made Sam Jones. Mr. Jones 
replied : "Well, why don't you make another?" As far as the news- 
papers could contribute towards the making of Mr. Jones, the 
Globe-Democrat did its share. The interest the Globe-Democrat 
took in Air. Jones created just a little friction between the great 
Catholic editor and the Catholic priest — however, the editor con- 
tinued to give full accounts of the meetings. This little press no- 
tice which has reference to the priest and the Globe-Democrat is 
worthy of a place here : "Father Phelan continues his sectarian as- 
saults upon Sam Jones, but the great religious daily paper prefer- 
ring the orthodox to the sectarian continues to be the organ of Sam 
Jones." 

While there was created a great deal of antagonism towards Mr. 
Jones and his methods, still the services continued to gain mo- 
mentum, as will be seen from the following clipping: 



■•'.<M:< .''.■' 



' a ;" : : -'.r 





M. J. MAXWEI.lv, FIRST CHORISTER. 



Sam P. Jonss. 161 

"Ten clays have the meetings been held; three regular services 
daily in Centenary church, and in the great Music Hall. Mr. Jones 
gathers the crowd. The Music Hall was packed with men on Sun- 
day afternoon. So large an audience of men never listened to a 
preacher before in the history of this city. The object in holding a 
meeting 'for men only' was that they might be able to hear. The 
.sermon was grand, strong, and very effective, and contained nothing 
which might not have been delivered before any audience. It was 
pure enough diction for any pulpit. The preacher so far has been 
directing his discourses to the church. The errors, follies and sins 
of the church have been exposed, reproved, satirized, ridiculed, de- 
nounced. The general tenor of the sermons has been, an echo of 
the demand made by the stern preacher in the wilderness, 'Bring 
forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance/ The work, hencefor- 
ward, is to have more direct reference to non-professors. The 
preacher has gained a good position for his work in this respect, his 
plain dealing with professors having given him the ear and confi- 
dence of outsiders, and we expect good work to be done in the fur-, 
ther progress of the meeting. 

"A large number of our preachers attend the meetings. Many 
ministers of other denominations are hearing Mr. Jones with inter- 
est. They admire his strong common sense, and feel that all the 
peculiarities of manner and style which the fastidious criticise are 
of little importance compared with the brave, true heart and prac- 
tical sense that give to his sermons their general character and tone. 

"No one can accuse Sam Jones of an affected style, or of relying 
on anything but the truth and the Spirit of God for success. And as 
to his rough speeches, the people have not found him as rude in 
speech as they expected. Either reports have been exaggerated, or 
the preacher has somewhat changed. 

"Several persons went forward for prayers this morning (Tues- 
day), and there were nearly a hundred requested prayers last night 
at the hall. 

"Many of our young preachers have come desiring, as is com- 
mendable, to take lessons from Mr. Jones's preaching. If they carry 
away something of the simplicity and honesty and zeal of the evan- 



162 Sam P. Jones. 

gelist they will be profited by hearing him. If they try to imitate 
his language they will sadly blunder ; if they make him a model in 
style they will make themselves ridiculous. We do not suggest that 
Sam Jones makes himself ridiculous. Ragged bowlders seem in 
place upon the side of a mountain, but would be out of harmony on 
a hillock. There is the harmony of naturalness in Sam Jones." 

There was very little opposition on the part of the newspapers. 
They were very generous in their editorial comments, and allowed 
much space in their reportorial department. This was greatly ap- 
preciated, not only in St. Louis, but in the surrounding country. 
We notice a communication to the Globe-Democrat of December 2, 
1885, saying: "I beg to assure you that your wonderful interest in 
publishing the sermons of Sam Jones is duly appreciated by your 
country friends. They are a great benediction to thousands of the 
great North and Southwest. I have been traveling nine years into 
St. Louis, and all the train boys and newspaper dealers everywhere 
tell me they sell five Globe-Democrats to one Republican. There 
is such a demand now for Sam Jones's sermons that the boys on the 
train run out of the papers frequently before they reach me, and 
copies are sold in advance of the newspaper. Send more out to the 
boys. Hurrah for the Globe-Democrat and Sam Jones." 

However, the Globe-Democrat freely admits that it does not un- 
derstand the methods of Mr. Jones. It says when the professing 
Christians of Nashville secured Sam Jones to convert the publicans 
and sinners of that town, they were no more able to understand his 
methods than is the Globe-Democrat. "We brought you here to 
pitch into the sinners," said the committee on grievances, "and here 
you are pitching into us and not saying a word about the sinners. 
What sort of a way is this?" "Now, never you mind," said the 
Georgia Member of the Democratic Church militant, "I haven't 
come to the sinners yet — I never scald hogs until I get my water 
hot." 

The St. Louis Republican was equally as generous in reporting 
Mr. Jones's work as the Globe-Democrat. They did not give ver- 
batim reports of his sermons, but wrote up the meetings in a very 
impartial way. They also had a number of editorial estimates of 



Sam P. Jones. 163 

Mr. Jones and his work, which were very fine. We insert one of 
these : 

"Rev. Samuel Jones, of Georgia, 'Evangelist,' if you prefer" it — 
though he calls himself plain 'Sam Jones' — is a man who challenges 
our admiring wonder, as a combination of Sidney Smith, Francis 
Bacon, Sancho Panza, and Josh Billings, with a strong leaven of 
the Major Jones of Georgia, who was so well known before the 
war. Perhaps, the Rev. Sam Jones and the Major are of blood kin, 
but though they certainly have qualities in common, the preacher 
Jones is a much greater man and one destined to a greater celebrity 
than the late officer in the Georgia militia. Since the Republican, 
north of the Ohio river, discovered this new Georgia wonder, our 
readers are not unacquainted with him, but he is a man who grows 
on you with acquaintance. He never opens his mouth but there 
issues a stream of constant truth, home-made proverbs and Georgia 
maxims which stick in the memories of those who hear or read 
them. Some of his sayings are full of a deep philosophy, and he 
says nothing without force, because he says nothing that he does 
not believe. 'Talk about an honest man starving to death,' he says 
in a recent sermon, 'they won't starve. God will feed an honest 
man if he has to put the angels on half rations.' That sentence is a 
religion, a code of morals, a creed and a system of philosophy in it- 
self, all compact enough to carry in the vest pocket for ready refer- 
ence in everything from trading off a glandered horse to giving a 
decision from the Supreme bench. The man who believes that God 
will put the angels on half rations before he would let an honest 
man starve, is not likely to steal, starve or beg. 

" 'What's culture worth,' inquires he in another connection. 'It's 
only whitewash on a rascal. I'd rather have to learn my A, B, C's 
in heaven than to know Greek in hell.' He does not mean that cul- 
ture is worthless, but simply that culture is worthless and an evil 
without honesty. He prays God to keep his boy pure and honest, 
though the child dies a fool, forgetting only that it is the fool who 
is most apt to be dishonest. Though his philosophy is frequently 
narrow, it is always strong, even in its inconsistencies. It is not be- 
coming in a man of his inflexible opinions to denounce opinion, but 
he does it, nevertheless, in a homely and forcible style." 



164 Sam P. Jones. 

While in Missouri and St. Louis Mr. Jones did not lose an oppor- 
tunity to preach against the liquor traffic. In fact, from the very 
first time he ever opened his mouth as a minister of the gospel until 
the last sermon fell from his lips before going to heaven, there were 
very few sermons in which he did not preach directly against the 
traffic or by suggestion hurl his truths at this national evil. In his 
great meetings in Memphis and in Nashville he poured out his soul 
in denouncing the evils of the saloon. In both of those cities he 
converted hundreds, and perhaps thousands, from the intoxicating 
cup, and created a powerful sentiment against the business. 

In his preaching against the liquor traffic he was taken to task by 
the Globe-Democrat. In one of his masterful sermons on "Sowing 
and Reaping" he answers the Globe-Democrat in the following way : 

" 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,' is as true in 
a spiritual and moral sense as it is in a physical. You sow whisky 
and reap drunkards. The man who disputes that disputes premises 
as sound as eternity and conclusions as clear as the mind of God. The 
Globe-Democrat takes exceptions to what I said about sixty thousand 
marching to hell by the whisky route yearly. Well, it looks like it, 
when there are twelve hundred barrooms in St. Louis swinging 
them into line, three thousand in Chicago, and Kansas City sprin- 
kled all over with them like the stars of night. Wherever there is a 
barroom that means ten men that will never recross the line. Di- 
rectly and indirectly I have not near come up to the mark when I 
said sixty thousand would go into a drunkard's grave in America. 
The cussing, black-mouthed barkeeper is a gentleman and a Chris- 
tian by the side of a town that will license or permit it to be sold. 
God pity a quack doctor that carries his saddlebag full of whisky 
and prescribes it for everything. He is not good enough to be a dog, 
much less a doctor." 

This unique and fearless manner of preaching was stirring the en- 
tire city. He was making an impression upon the great lawyers, 
business men, ministers, and editors as few men have been able to 
do in the pulpit. The Globe-Democrat about this time said: "Sam 
Jones is a bright streak in the moral heaven. The St. John M. E. 
Church last night was crowded, chairs being placed in every nook and 



Sam P. Jones. 165 

corner and the Sunday-school connecting this with the main audi- 
ence-room was also filled. Mr. Jones stood on a platform near the 
doorway, between the two rooms, and preached as he never preached 
in St. Louis before. He reasoned with his hearers, told them of 
God's persistent love, wept as he recited his own religious sorrows, 
grew solemn and serious as he depicted the day of God's wrath, and 
succeeded in making a deep and lasting impression. 

"The platform was crowded with the ministers of the city, who 
were deeply impressed with the magnificent sermon that he had 
preached." 

Here is a message to the husband taken from that memorable ser- 
mon on "The Calls of God," as he delivered it that night : "I just 
want to look at every man to-night who has a good religious wife. 
I want to say this to you, and may the Holy Spirit of God burn it 
into your conscience. Listen to me, friends, listen. The man who 
stamps upon a good wife's heart and almost crushes the last drop of 
blood out of it, let me say to you, sir, you owe that wife a debt that 
you can never pay her until you pay it at the cross of Jesus Christ.. 
You owe those innocent children that throw their arms around your 
neck and love you with all their hearts — you owe those precious inno- 
cent children a debt that you never can pay until you pay it with your 
wife around the consecrated altar of God. It is a source of everlast- 
ing joy to me as I live. [Tears here coursed down the cheeks of Mr. 
Jones.] I had at my home a precious child when I was a wicked, 
wayward, godless man. It is the only sweet child I had who ever 
looked in my face when I was not a Christian. That child is in 
heaven, but, thank God, I have no other child that looked in its 
father's face when he was not trying to serve God and do right. 

"Oh," friend, when you talk about children! If you can not touch 
a man when you bring to bear upon him the relations of his precious 
children, then he is dead to everything that is noble and pure and 
good. God is going to take something from us. As I said just now, 
there is many a happy circle in this town, but you mark what I say at 
this moment, you had better look out. God don't like the way you 
are doing, brother. He don't like the example you are setting your 
children, and if God takes two or three of your sweet children to 
heaven this winter, you are going to be a better father to those that 
are left; now, mark what I say." 



166 Sam P. Jones. 

The interest increased until there was no church in the city that 
could begin to accommodate the tremendous crowds that sought to 
hear Mr. Jones. In order to give the people a chance to hear him, 
the Music Hall was rented at an expense of one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars a night, and its doors thrown open to the public. He 
literally preached his way into the hearts of the people until he 
crowded himself out of the largest churches and made it absolutely 
necessary for him to have larger quarters. 



CHAPTER XV. 



In Missouri and St. Louis (Continued). 

In making the announcement of the change from the churches to 
the auditorium, Mr. Jones said : 

"To-morrow night you can expect us at the exposition building, 
where we will have plenty of room. I don't say this in a boasting 
spirit. I am human and I use the personal pronoun '1/ but it is all 
for God, and there is nothing which I have that He can not have — 
every cent I have, or even my life. I don't ask you to endorse my 
method ; I don't reckon your endorsement would help me or benefit 
you. I seek only God's endorsement and no other's, not even my 
wife's or children's ; or even my mother's if she were alive. I want 
every Christian minister in this town to take stock in this revival. 
It is true I am a Methodist, but I don't have sectarianism in this 
fight. Methodism is only a duster ; when I get to heaven I will take 
it off, and go in wearing the cloth coat under it. Some people don't 
believe in revivals. A young lady, whose father was a minister, once 
said to me : 'My father doesn't believe in revivals,' and I answered : 
'Then your father and the devil agree on that point, no matter on 
what other points they differ.' 

"Once a minister said that his church was the true church, and I 
replied that his church was only a crocheting society. That preacher 
looked as if he didn't like my reply, but after thinking the matter 
over and writing me a letter touching on the subject, I next heard 
of him standing up in his own church and saying, 'Sam Jones was 
right.' " 

When we remember that Mr. Jones went to St. Louis for a 
Methodist meeting to be held at Centenary church, and was prac- 
tically a stranger in the city, the people knowing nothing of him or 
his work but what they had gathered from the newspapers, that he: 

(167) 



168 Sam P. Jonks. 

should have crowds demanding such a building, is really a marvel. 
What preacher living or dead could have gotten such a hold upon 
the city ? Perhaps some thought that he would be unable to fill the 
great Music Hall, but a notice appears in the daily paper which 
speaks of his first appearance in the Music Hall : 

"Sam Jones drew a crowd last night that filled the great Music 
Hall in the exposition building, and nobody left the hall until the 
benediction had been pronounced. Several times during his address 
he was heartily applauded. There were plenty of other occasions 
when his peculiar wit evoked laughter, and every now and then there 
was a dead silence, where one might have expected laughter or ap- 
plause, showing that the oratorical shaft was barbed and had struck 
home. Outside of the address there was a prayer by Dr. Tudor, the 
smging of two hymns and the announcement of the week's services. 
There will be services at Centenary Methodist church every morning 
and afternoon and on Thursday evening. On other evenings serv- 
ices will be held at the Exposition Music Hall. Now that the work 
is assuming shape, the local clergy are taking hearty interest." 

Mr. Jones created such a stir in St. Louis that worldliness was 
being considerably checked. The social life of the city was being 
broken into by his preaching. The card parties and other worldly 
amusements were suffering at his hands. The theaters were being 
greatly reduced in their attendance, and all classes of people were in 
attendance upon the meetings. All forms of worldliness and wick- 
edness were being disturbed. His wit, humor, sarcasm and pathos 
made it possible for him to be the sensation that he was. While a 
great many people take exceptions to the use of consecrated wit in 
the pulpit, nevertheless it has proved its place in the pulpit by its re- 
sults. Nearly every great preacher has made use of it. Moody and 
Spurgeon were especially effective while employing it. All of this 
talk called forth a very effective tribute to Mr. Jones and his man- 
ner of speech. I think it is worthy of a place here : 

"From time to time preachers have appeared who seemed raised 
up for the special work of raising the popular heart to an appre- 
ciation of the claims of Christ upon their allegiance. Such a preach- 
er was John the Baptist, the greatest of them all, who spoke under 



Sam P. Jonss. 16& 

the great blue vault of Nature's heavens. Some of the popular ora- 
tors have used sarcasm with singular effect, as, for example, Hugh 
Latimer, the great reformer, bishop and martyr. For weeks Lati- 
mer spoke in the open air at Paul's Cross in London. He exposed 
the non-preaching prelates, the rich bishops, who never opened their 
mouths to the people, but occupied themselves with the politics, the 
intrigues, the scandals of the various European courts. 

"Latimer, too, indoctrinated the masses in true piety, and to his 
personal influence it is due mainly that England embraced the re- 
formed religion. But Latimer was a prince of jokers, as well as the 
prince of preachers. His sermons of the 'Plough' abound with 
jokes, local hits, sarcasm and /points,' some of which have not lost 
their flavor to this day. 

"A pulpit use of wit is no new thing, and is a powerful vehicle for 
good. Sam Jones is as keen as a razor, as sarcastic as a Latimer 
himself. He uses the language, employs the ideas and exposes the 
follies and vices of the great mass of humanity, of which each of us 
are liable to esteem ourselves a most important part. 

"Sam Jones is loyal to the truth — the sad truth of man's fallen 
condition by sin and the glorious counter-truth of Christ's redeem- 
ing power upon the heart. Brother Jones is fully in earnest, proba- 
bly has not seen an idle hour since he was converted, and conse- 
quently he has done, and is doing, a great work for good. His hu- 
mor is exquisite, his irony as keen as a thorn. Taken altogether, his 
seriousness, his fun, his pure, simple Bible religion, his evident sym- 
pathy with souls, constitutes Sam Jones a power for good — unique, 
peculiar, versatile, effective. 

"No such extended interest in any one man has recently been ex- 
cited in our midst, and the interest seems to be everywhere the same. 
Great crowds have heard this newest apostle, and we have great 
reason to hope that our community will be permanently benefited by 
his ministrations." 

One of the best estimates of Mr. Jones and his work in St. Louis 
was written by the Rev. Dr. Godby in the Southern Methodist: 

"No evangelist that has ever visited this city has been heard by 
such large congregations, and no one has more impressed his hearers 



170 Sam P. Jones. 

with his manliness, courage and broad and correct views of Chris- 
tianity and Christian duty. 

"His preaching is unique in style, but as natural as childhood. 
His wit is spontaneous and sparkles out everywhere. He has won- 
derful aptness in illustration. His expositions of doctrine show 
him thoroughly sound in theology. 

"No evangelist has relied so much upon the simple word of truth. 
No studied manipulation of audiences, no effort to attract by music, 
no attempt in any sort of sensation has characterized his work. 

"Jones is a genius, entitled to his own way of preaching. Any 
attempt to imitate him would be a miserable failure, and no man 
would be farther from the real spirit and character of Sam Jones 
than a man who would undertake it. His style is not studied, he 
follows no pattern. Nature has given him rare endowment, and 
such as he is he has offered himself to the Master's service." 

Criticism subsided as his work went on. Expressions which 
grated harshly on the ears of every one when he began to preach, 
and which none approved, ceased to be spoken of by those who heard 
him from day to day, because they were ashamed to raise objections 
to a man who had won their hearts by so many just claims. 

"Brother Jones seems to unite courage and fidelity in declaring 
the truth and reproving sins with almost feminine tenderness; 
and with all the admiration which the public exhibit for him, we saw 
in him only the meekness of a Christian." 

The last services of the series was Sunday evening. Soon after 
five o'clock the people began to assemble, though the service was not 
to begin until seven forty-five. Long before that time there was no 
room in pew or aisle for another one. When the sermon was con- 
cluded and the audience dismissed, the people stood reverently as if 
the service was going on. The benediction was pronounced a sec- 
ond time, but no one seemed to be willing to quit the church ; and 
three-quarters of an hour later a large crowd was still lingering to 
take the hand of Mr. Jones before parting. He left us Monday 
morning, and the prayers and blessings of thousands of Christians 
went with him. 

When the meeting finally closed, it was admitted on all sides that 



Sam P. Jones. 171 

it was one of the greatest victories the church had ever known. Mr. 
Jones, perhaps, saw the situation as no one else did, and was better- 
prepared to give a correct estimate of the work than any one else. 
The last night of the meeting he made the following remarks re- 
garding the work in St. Louis : 

"There are one or two things I want to say to you before we pro- 
ceed with the text. There are many things at this hour to gladden 
my heart, and I feel grateful to God for the cooperation and prayers 
of the hundreds of Christian people, and all of those faithful minis- 
ters who have stood by my side ; I thank God for the hundreds and 
thousands of Christian people in this city, who testify that they start 
out from these services with renewed strength and vigor, and with 
their religious life quickened, with their hopes brightened, with their 
faith stronger. I thank God for all of this. Then we are grateful to 
God for the hundreds, I know not how many hundreds, that have 
given themselves to God and a better life. I have seen as many as 
fifty at a service profess faith and love in Jesus Christ. I have seen 
at other services forty, and I have seen at some thirty, proving a 
desire to do right. This much I can say, we are satisfied that hun- 
dreds have decided and made choice of Christ as their personal 
Saviour and seeking heaven as their final home. 

"There are some features of these meetings that when we look at 
them we are discouraged and heartsick. While we glorify God that 
hundreds have been quickened unto a new life, and hundreds have 
been brought to Christ, yet it makes our hearts sad when we see 
thousands that are out of Christ, and I never can rejoice with my 
whole heart over those that have found Christ when I am sad over 
the thousands that are still lost. Oh, Christ, go out after the lost 
sheep of this city and seek them till you have found them all, and 
lay them on Thy own loving shoulder and bring them all back to 
the fold. 

"I leave here with a sad heart. I go away from many new-made 
friends ; I go away with a consciousness that many names and faces 
are written on my heart. You may read them there in heaven, I 
trust. 

"I leave your city to go to the bedside of one of the sweetest, best 



172 Sam P. Jones. 

sisters a boy ever had, or maybe to her funeral, I know not. I have 
been very sad all day, and yet rejoicing. I think this has been the 
sweetest religious day I almost ever spent in my life. The Lord came 
upon us at Centenary, and His blessings came like the falling snow, 
^and we scarcely knew that grace was falling until we were covered 
up all over with the snows of divine grace which had fallen. Let us 
look for such a service to-night. I shall carry you away in my heart 
and in my memory, and I shall pray for you, and the greatest favor 
I can ask of you is to pray God that I may be a faithful preacher, a 
.good man, a gentle, loving father and husband in the highest sense 
of the word. God bless you all. 

"Then I want to say the newspapers of this city have been a great 
help to me in my work. They have done more through their press- 
rooms than I have done from the pulpit. I have had hundreds of 
hearers; they have had thousands of readers; I am grateful to 
them ; and I say to you that whenever in the history of any town or 
community Christ shall have unto Himself four or five columns in 
your leading newspapers each day the Lord Jesus Christ will make 
an impression upon this world. 

"The Globe-Democrat (and I make no invidious distinction of the 
Globe-Democrat) especially, has given stenographic reports of the 
sermons ; the Republican has given column after column, large space 
to long-hand reports of the sermons, and to these two papers I owe 
a great deal. I commend the enterprise of the Globe-Democrat and 
the fidelity of the Republican to those interested in this meeting. 
May God bless the editors, may God bless the reporters — I know I 
mean that — may God bless the printers and may God bless every 
man who takes those papers in his hands. I thank you all for your 
kind words and your prayers, and your many tokens of good will 
and appreciation of me and my work ; I thank you with all the heart 
I have, and if I was a bigger-hearted man you would get bigger 
thanks. God bless you all and save you all." 

Ten years afterwards Mr. Jones returned to St. Louis for a re- 
vival campaign. He had been invited there often, but had never 
been able to hold another meeting. Finally the question of his com- 
ing was introduced by some business men at one of the preachers' 



Sam P. Jones. 173 

meetings, and there was some opposition manifested toward him. 
Mr. Jones was immediately informed of this, and after much prayer 
decided that he should go and hold this second meeting, hoping for 
as much cooperation as possible from the laity and the ministers. 
While there were a great many prominent laymen and some of the 
leading preachers anxious for him to come, under the circumstances 
Mr. Jones decided to assume all the financial obligations, and there- 
fore rented the Music Hall for three weeks, which amounted to 
twenty-one hundred dollars. Perhaps the greatest opposition Mr. 
Jones ever met with was upon his second visit to St. Louis. There 
were some prominent Methodist preachers in the city who were un- 
willing to cooperate with him, and fought his coming. In the 
preachers' meeting and before their official boards they did every- 
thing in their power to break up the plans for the meeting. This 
was one reason why Mr. Jones was so anxious to respond to the call 
of some Christian laymen and a few ministers, and led him to shoul- 
der the responsibility that he assumed. 

After the meeting began some of the preachers went among the 
people and urged them not to attend, while others fought him from 
the pulpit, but this made absolutely no impression upon Mr. Jones, 
and didn't seem to interfere at all with the great work which had 
been inaugurated. The Music Hall would not begin to hold the 
people, and soon the opposition died away. 

One night before the great audience Mr. Jones said : "If these D. 
D.'s don't let up, I will have to quit." [Laughter.] "Look here, they 
Iiave just got the folks away from here until there ain't but six thou- 
sand here to-night. I ain't mad at them, I like them ; I want to meet 
them all in heaven, but I don't care about meeting them until I 
have been there about a week." This was his good-natured way of 
showing the people that the opposition had been overcome. The 
revival swept on, gathering momentum, until one of the greatest 
victories for the cause of Christ was realized. The meeting was soon 
warmly endorsed by the most prominent Christian workers in the 
^city, and a majority of the leading clergymen. Some of the greatest 
and most powerful sermons Mr. Jones ever preached were created 
-and delivered during the St. Louis campaign. When the financial 



174 Sam P. Jonss. 

responsibility had been met by generous gifts of the friends of the 
movement, and when the debt was paid, the committee presented Mr. 
Jones with a very handsome purse as a token of their appreciation 
of the work that he had done. 

Just before leaving the city Col. Bob Ingersoll came there for a 
lecture. While the great Music Hall could not accommodate the 
crowd that came to hear Mr. Jones, Colonel Ingersoll had a rather 
small audience at the theater. The Globe-Democrat had an interview 
with Mr. Jones regarding Ingersoll. "What do you think of Inger- 
soll ?" asked the representative of the great paper. Mr. Jones replied : 
"I can't answer you in two or three words ; personally, Mr. Ingersoll 
is no doubt a genial gentleman ; physically, he is fat ; intellectually, he 
is bright, and morally there may be worse men ; theologically, he is 
a bad egg." "What do you think of the moral influence of his lec- 
tures?" asked the reporter. "That is very easily answered. His 
lectures are a calamity, and the worst is, he reaches the class of peo- 
ple upon whom they have the most baneful effect. Mr. Ingersoll 
forgets that the masses were not all reared in Christian homes, as he 
was, and with their training his sayings turns them over to utter 
recklessness. Whatever virtues Mr. Ingersoll possesses is the gift 
of Christianity. He never got them from infidelity." "How do you 
account for his power to attract large audiences ?" Mr. Jones said : 
"His power to attract lies in his ability to shock. He is the devil's 
dynamo, and when a man stands upon the damp soil of a sinful life, 
old Bob can turn a current on him that will make him almost leap- 
out of himself." The reporter asked, "What about Mr. Ingersoll' s- 
arguments?" Mr. Jones replied: "He is an orator of the highest 
type. I know no man who can put English together like he can. 
His words put into sentences look like strings of pearls, but they 
are merely bracelets and necklaces for swine. He hasn't any argu- 
ments whatever. His philosophy and religion do not build colleges, 
almshouses or asylums. They are powerless to reform the drunk- 
ard and the outlaw. They do not make a man kinder in his home, 
or more respected in the community where he lives. With his wit 
and intellectual cunning, aided by his illogical reasoning, he may 
play on the weaknesses of religion, and, by his flights of eloquence,. 



Sam P. Jones. 175 

upon the duties of life, which he steals from Christianity, but, after 
all, a thoughtful man sees the cunning of his method and detects the 
direful effect his words have upon those who hear him. I see no good 
that can possibly come from his lectures on infidelity. I see much 
harm that may result from them." "What do you think as to his sin- 
cerity?" inquired the reporter. Mr. Jones said : "As to whether Mr. 
Ingersoll is sincere or not makes no difference when you look at the 
tendency of his lectures. I believe a man can reach such condition 
and attitude that in the moral world a lie is to him the truth, and the 
truth a lie. I suppose he will die as he has lived, but after death he 
will no longer be a disbeliever or an unbeliever. When he is gone 
the ministry will live; churches will flourish; morality will be 
taught and practiced, and Christian virtues will be embodied in men 
long after he has passed from the earth." 

When the last night of the meeting came it was attended by the 
largest audience that ever assembled to hear a minister in St. Louis. 
After every available seat was occupied in the great Music Hall, 
there were as many, if not more, on the outside of the building try- 
ing to gain admittance. It was with much difficulty that the police- 
men opened the way for Mr. Jones to pass through the crowd to the 
main entrance of the building. A great crowd thronged on the out- 
side, clamoring for a few words from him. Mr. Jones took a posi- 
tion on the step and addressed them for ten minutes or more. When 
lie finished the crowd seemed to appreciate the words that he had 
uttered, and as there was no chance or possibility for them to get 
within the building they quietly and gradually dispersed. 

In all, the work was one of the most marvelous victories; the 
•strongest oppositions had been overcome and he had succeeded in 
spite of those who opposed him. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Th£ Cincinnati Rdvivai,. 

After the conquest of Mr. Jones in St. Louis in November of last 
year he spent the holidays at home with his family, and on January 
7, 1886, he went to Cincinnati and opened a campaign against the 
sins and vices of the Queen City. 

During the six months that had passed since Mr. Jones's great 
meeting in Nashville there had been more in the secular press re- 
garding him and his peculiar methods than any other pulpit orator 
in the land. 

The remarkable results of the Nashville meeting had been herald- 
ed abroad, and the great dailies of St. Louis had brought him more 
prominently before the people during the wonderful meeting in that 
city. This had prepared the way for the greater dailies of Cincin- 
nati to discuss him freely, and bring him into still greater promi- 
nence. This in a marked degree called the attention of the Cincin- 
nati people to his peculiar preaching. His fame had gone before 
him, and the people had become interested in his great ministry. 

Perhaps Cincinnati was the most obstinate and wicked place to 
which Mr. Jones had been called to labor. The city has been noted 
for its indifference to religion, and its open wickedness, although 
there were thousands of most earnest Christians in the city. What 
Paul said of Athens might be applied to Cincinnati, "The city wholly 
given to idolatry." 

There was one minister, Dr. I. W. Joyce, pastor of the St. Paul 
Methodist church (he was afterwards made bishop), who must have 
had the apostle's experience when "his spirit was stirred within him- 
when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." Dr. Joyce had en- 
deavored to get the Protestant Ministers' Alliance to bring Mr. 
Jones to Cincinnati, and having failed, he took upon himself the re- 

(176) 



Sam P. Jones. 177 

sponsibility of inviting him to the St. Paul Methodist church. This 
invitation came through the official board, at the suggestion of Dr. 
Joyce. 

To have anything like a sweeping revival, one that would move 
the city to its very depths, the outlook was absolutely hopeless from 
a human viewpoint. The church in which the meeting started was 
centrally located, but with a small seating capacity, perhaps not ac- 
commodating more than eight hundred or a thousand. This would 
not impress one as the place where a current could be started that 
would sweep over the great city. 

To evangelize a great city like Cincinnati it would seem necessary 
to have most perfect organization with the most exhaustive prepara- 
tions. In previous meetings other evangelists had the benefits of 
such organization, and the assistance of a corps of able workers, as 
preachers and singers, with the hearty endorsement and cooperation 
of the evangelical ministers and Christian laity; but Mr. Jones had 
none of this. When we see the great work that he accomplished, 
without the aid of perfected plans, and much machinery, it will give 
us a deeper insight into his real ability, and allow more credit for the 
operation of the divine Spirit. 

Cincinnati was never an inviting field for evangelists. Nearly 
every prominent one who labored there realized that it was a most 
difficult city to move. The great Moody said, "It is the graveyard 
for evangelists." The municipal life had been notably corrupt, the 
social life always shallow and empty. The religious life had been 
weak and powerless. Under such conditions it was hard for the 
evangelists to succeed. If the combined forces of the ministry, with 
the most perfect scheme for evangelization, have staggered and 
failed in the presence of the foes and strongholds of the enemy, how 
difficult it would seem for them to be conquered through the personal 
influence and ministry of Mr. Jones. However, when the Holy 
Spirit is at work and God's servants are under his leadership, insur- 
mountable difficulties disappear. 

Mr. Jones preached his first sermon in St. Paul's church to an au- 
dience that did not tax the seating capacity of the building. For a 
week or ten days the attendance was large, but great crowds did not 

7 3 



178 Sam P. Jonss. 

attend. Those who heard him went away and spread the news, and 
the audiences finally became so large that the church proved too 
small to accommodate the people. While the papers had taken con- 
siderable notice of him and his work, it was not until he had great 
crowds that they published full accounts of the meetings. The 
religious fire had broken out in the church and reached in every di- 
rection, until it seemed that the whole city was aglow with religious 
fervor. Dr. Joyce, seeing the turn that the meeting had taken, de- 
cided that Mr. Jones should have a larger building in which to 
preach. Again, he sought the cooperation and help of the Ministers* 
Alliance and the laity of other churches, but received very little en- 
couragement from them. However, he was determined that Mr. 
Jones should have a place large enough to accommodate the people 
who were anxious to hear him. Finally, with the endorsement of 
his official board, he contracted for the lrage Music Hall, which 
would accommodate from eight to ten thousand people, and his 
church became responsible for the rent, and lifted all anxiety from 
the heart of the evangelist, and turned him loose in the magnificent 
auditorium, that he might preach to the thousands. 

From a worldly point of view, this was nothing less than a piece 
of daring. The announcement of the transfer of the meetings from 
the church to the Music Hall created much interest and comment. 
The editors of the great daily papers began to take deeper interest in 
the movement. The revival had taken on such wonderful power that 
it defied opposition. The great papers sent their reporters to the 
Music Hall to report the wonderful work that had been inaugurated. 
The city was in a great commotion, and when the hour for the first 
service in the new building arrived it would be seen whether the 
change was justified. 

The Music Hall had been put in readiness for the meeting. There 
was a large platform projecting from the front of the stage, covered 
with green baize, and in the center of this improvised platform was a 
table for the Bible. When the doors were opened the people rushed 
in until they tested the seating capacity of the great hall. Both sides 
of the balcony were occupied, and every seat of the auditorium was 
filled, while a line of young men stood all along the sides of the hall. 



Sam P. Jones. 179 

The platform was occupied by a large number of ministers of the 
city. Mr. M. J. Maxwell, who had recently formed partnership with 
Mr. Jones as a chorister, had organized a very large and enthusiastic 
choir. The music on this first occasion was spirited. The great 
choir under direction of the leader rendered many helpful songs, and 
Mr. Maxwell urged that the audience assist in the singing. It 
wasn't long until a great volume of song filled the immense building. 
About the close of the song service Mr. Jones entered the building 
and seated himself near the front of the platform. 

The following morning the Cincinnati Enquirer said: "Last 
night's sermon was the best that Mr. Jones has yet delivered. It 
was sparkling with wit and brimful of hard sense, and some of the 
remarks on the state of things existing in other cities were remarka- 
bly applicable to local affairs. The politicians were touched up in 
a lively manner that showed a keen insight into local politics. The 
clubs of the city were scorched in an unusual way, and Mr. Jones 
mentioned several of the leading clubs by name. Mr. Jones did not 
fail to arraign the liquor traffic during the course of his remarks. 
He had the following to say about the saloons, and closed with a 
touching illustration of how whiskey had ruined a Georgia boy : 

"You reckon the saloon men in this city, if they had any con- 
science or believed in God, would want to pour liquid damnation 
down the throats of our men and boys and damn them and ruin so- 
ciety, and ruin the Sabbath day ? No, sir. They deny that there is a 
God, and practically they have no conscience. What we want in 
this country, if we have any conscience, is to quit stabbing it. That's 
what we want. The man that will sell liquor is about eleven-tenths 
hog, anyway — that's the truth about it. All that's physical about 
him has turned to hog, and the intellect of the fellow has turned into 
a hog; that makes another tenth, and now he is a solid hunk — 
eleven-tenths hog. [Laughter.] And there are men in this city who 
are given over to drink, who have tampered with liquor until they 
have gotten to the place where they can not break away from the 
habit. They are going down grade at a fearful rate, and in spite of 
everything will be damned. 

"Poor Bob Herrick, of my State, drank on and on until he was 



180 Sam P. Jones. 

seized with the third attack of delirium tremens. At times he was 
trying to beat his arms off against the bed, and he had almost bitten 
his tongue out of his mouth, when in a lucid moment he said : 'Doc- 
tor, is there any chance for me to live?' And the doctor said, 'No, 
Bob, no, if you drink you will die, and if you do not drink you will 
die' — and two more hours passed ; his wife and children were hang- 
ing around his neck, as he foundered on the rocks of damnation and 
went out forever. Oh, friends, if there is a brake in your hands, 
put it on to-night. If you can say, 'I will stop, I w T ill stop/ say it 
now. Do not roll another foot — do not roll another round of the 
wheels — just look the situation over and say, 'I have drank my last 
drop. I have sworn my last oath.' " 

There were fears on the part of some that Mr. Jones would be 
unable to make every one hear him in the great building. However, 
these fears were removed when he arose to speak. His voice was 
in good shape, and its peculiar resonance made it easy for the large 
assembly to hear even his faintest words. The service produced a 
profound impression, and the great audience went away deeply im- 
pressed with the message of truth. All the fears and apprehensions 
were swept away at the first service, and the people saw that the 
great faith of Dr. Joyce had triumphed, and they were enthusiastic 
over the wonderful proportions that the meeting had taken on. 

From day to day the audiences increased both in the afternoon 
and in the evening. At the first afternoon service there was an audi- 
ence of thirty-five hundred people ; afterwards the immense hall was 
filled at many of the day services. The Music Hall was always over- 
flowing at night. The interest deepened in every way, and the city 
was soon under the control of the mighty Spirit of Grace. 

There was a considerable change in the weather, and the cold, wet, 
disagreeable day made it difficult for people to leave their homes. In 
the evening the city was swept by a fearful storm. Some thought 
that this would interfere with the attendance at the meeting; how- 
ever, the first floor of the auditorium, including the stage, balcony 
and gallery were densely crowded, and hundreds who entered the 
hall after the seats were occupied were compelled to stand during 
the service. A large number of people who had braved the discom- 



Sam P. Jones. 181 

forts of the evening were turned away, being unable to get even 
standing-room. 

When Mr. Jones came upon the platform, the remarkable attend- 
ance was an inspiration to him, and he was in one of his best moods, 
as was seen from his sermon, which was replete with flashes of wit 
and brilliant references to the meeting, which evoked the most en- 
thusiastic applause from the audience. 

In his mail that day he had received letters that he read to the 
congregation. Facing the immense throng he said : 

"Brethren, I received (holding a piece of paper in his hand) this 
in the contribution basket last night, and when this much comes to 
me it seems like there can't be anything better than this to follow. 
This little scrap of paper pays me for every lick I have struck in 
your city : 'Brother Jones, I am in your debt as follows for quitting 
and swearing off from drinking one hundred dollars; for quitting 
and swearing off from swearing one hundred dollars; for quitting 
all my meanness one milion dollars; for learning to love our dear 
Lord better than life, three billion dollars. Credit one dollar. I 
hope to be able to pay the balance by doing good the remainder of 
my days/ 

"Brethren, what is really the pay in this service ? Thank God for 
the privilege of doing good. Dr. Joyce [turning to the minister], 
that's one reason why I never ask you for a cent of money, and I 
told you I didn't want a cent, for I knew God would pay me, and 
here is the pay. If this man feels that way, how do" you reckon his 
precious wife and children feel about it ? Glory to God for bringing 
heaven to one home in Cincinnati. Thank God for every home that 
has been blessed. I thought once to-day I would have all the com- 
munications I got in the basket last night compiled into a little pam- 
phlet for its rich reading. One dear woman writes : 'I haven't a cent 
in the world to give, but I want to tell you that you have brought me 
to the dear Saviour and He is mine, and I am happy in his love.' I 
tell you we will be paid in heaven when money and dollars and cents 
have long ago been forgoten. Thank God for pay that I can cross 
the river with. I don't mean the Ohio river, but the river of Death 
to the City of God." 



182 Sam P. Jones. 

Comments upon the incidents showed his real character regarding 
the finances connected with the meeting. While, as a rule, he was 
paid handsomely for his services, he never allowed monetary consid- 
erations to influence him one whit in his meetings. How this re- 
minds us of his attitude towards the financial committee in the city 
of Cincinnati twenty years afterwards while holding his last meeting 
there. He shouldered the responsibility that the financial committee 
had assumed, and bravely fought their battles, raising the entire 
amount necessary for the expenses of the meeting, losing sight of his 
own remuneration, and when the last service was conducted and the 
expenses met, there was scarcely anything said about his own com- 
pensation. He accepted gratefully what the committee gave him. 
It was doubled six months afterward. Had he failed to receive a 
cent for his work in the first or last meeting, he would have left the 
city with as much faith in God and love for humanity as if they had 
poured thousands of dollars into his hands. While aiding the finan- 
cial committee in raising the money for the expenses of his last meet- 
ing, he was so often reminded of how Bishop Joyce relieved him of 
such anxiety in the first great work. He was fond of saying that 
just one man is needed in every great city back of every good and 
worthy cause. He said so many times with great admiration and 
reverence, "Oh, how I miss dear old Bishop Joyce, who has just 
slipped off a little ahead of me to his home above. How I remember 
his untiring efforts as a leader of God's people in this city twenty 
years ago." 

The papers next morning spoke of how the meeting was reaching 
all classes of people, and as they were on the ground, they could 
speak intelligently: 

"The great religious revival conducted by Sam Jones has been 
spreading like wildfire day by day until now little else is thought of 
or spoken of in the city. In the hotel lobbies, offices, stores, club- 
houses and police circles the subject of religion and the man who is 
now so forcibly proclaiming it in this community are the general 
topics of conversation. And the subject of purity versus impurity, 
and godliness versus ungodliness, have even penetrated those places 
where, before, such thoughts were never dreamed of. 



Sam P. Jonss. 183 

• " Yesterday Mr. Jones preached two sermons in Music Hall. The 
one he delivered in the afternoon was his first to men only. It was 
attended by at least six thousand men, and he held them in sympathy 
and interest from the beginning until the close of the sermon. At 
night he addressed a mixed audience, which numbered not less than 
nine thousand persons. The doors were closed shortly after seven 
o'clock, though the services did not commence until seven-thirty, and 
at least five thousand disappointed people were turned away for want 
of room to place them in the hall. Expressions of 'Wonderful! 
Wonderful !' are heard on all sides. The moral good done to this 
community and section by the revival is wonderful to contemplate. 
"This evangelist can already number his friends here by the thou- 
sands. He has made impressions on the hearts of the people that 
will not be obliterated." 

It was evident that a vast amount of real and lasting good of a 
known quantity was being accomplished by these meetings, and per- 
haps the unknown quantity of good was much greater. One of the 
tangible results at that stage was the quietude of the Sabbath. The 
city was noted for its open and flagrant sins on the Lord's day, as 
could be seen from the police annals in the Monday courts. The 
most striking illustration of the power of the movement, and a 
proof of the intense and general interest felt was that there were' 
absolutely no arrests for any offense recorded up to six o'clock. This 
was unknown in the city before, and was solely and correctly attrib- 
uted to the influence that Mr. Jones was exerting upon the city. An- 
other was the fact that Mr. Jones's sermons were being reported ver- 
batim in the Enquirer and other papers, and that the preachers were 
discussing him and the secret of his power in their Sunday services. 
These great papers had called not only the attention of the ministers 
of the city but of the surrounding country to his work, and in other 
cities the ministers were reading and commenting favorably upon 
his sermons at their regular Sunday morning services. Special to 
the Commercial-Gazette, of Springfield, Ohio, says: "The interest 
in the great revival now being held in Cincinnati by the Rev. Sam 
Jones is far from being confined to Cincinnati. 

"There is almost as much interest in the sermons in this city as in 



184 Sam P. Jones. 

that. Dr. Tuckley, a former Cincinnati pastor, and at present pastor 
of St. Paul's M. E. church, this city, has had several 'Sam Jones' 
nights at St. Paul's, in the course of which he delivered a sermon, 
giving many of the bright and pithy sayings of Sam Jones. Several 
Springfield pastors have lectured on Sam Jones and his methods. 
The Commercial-Gazette, containing the sermons, is eagerly awaited 
by many persons, and not a few have saved the papers containing 
the sermons entire since the first. 

"The general opinion here is that the sermons are steadily improv- 
ing as Sam Jones goes on. An effort will be made to have Mr. 
Jones come to this city for a series of meetings. Revivals are in 
progress here in the Central, St. Paul and High Street M. E. 
churches. The number of conversions have been very large." 

Furthermore, the sermons as printed in the papers were eagerly 
sought for and read by people farther away. Usually sermons re- 
produced in newspapers are not much read, hence they are not often 
printed, but those of Mr. Jones were of such interest that much 
space was given to them. At the capital of the nation, the most 
.prominent men were buying the papers, that they might get 
every word that he was uttering in Cincinnati. The people 
never tired of reading them. He knew that his sermons in 
Nashville and St. Louis had been widely copied, and he did 
not repeat himself in Cincinnati. While he would take the same 
text, he could preach several sermons from it without going over 
the same ground. Those who make a careful study of his sermons 
will see that he never repeated. If he should use the same expres- 
sions, they were always as fresh and forceful as if he had uttered 
them for the first time. This wonderful power made it impossible 
for him to repeat. 

A prominent bishop once said to him : "Mr. Jones, where do you 
get all the marvelous things you say ? - You finish reading a morn- 
ing's paper in ten minutes ; you take'no time for special study; where 
do you gather up all these wise and witty things you say?" His re- 
ply was : "I don't know, my brain secretes them like my liver se- 
cretes bile." 

Mr. Jories realized in those days that the whole country was fol- 



Sam P. Jones. 185 

lowing him, and he guarded against repetition. Some of the most 
marvelous productions of his brain were during his great meetings 
in Nashville, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Chicago 1 , which were held in 
close succession. 

Two gentlemen discussing Mr. Jones's methods, said one: "I don't 
for the life of me know what it is about Sam. Jones, but his words 
burn their way into my heart, and I always go away from his preach- 
ing feeling a better and purer man." The other remarked : "Nor 
can I fathom the secret of his influence over men, but he certainly 
has a peculiar influence, and carries a man with him in his absorbing 
illustrations of good and evil." 

Unquestionably Mr. Jones had captured Cincinnati and the sur- 
rounding country, and the ultimate positive good that was accom- 
plished can never fully be known. Cincinnati was yielding to the 
power of God, and dying hard, and sinners were being converted on 
all sides. The people stood in awe and surprise at the signal defeat 
of the evil one, and nothing short of the coming millennium would 
'surprise the enthusiastic and astonished Cincinnatians. 

About this time Mr. Dwight L,. Moody stopped off the train one 
night to hear Mr. Jones. Upon his return to the station he wrote 
him in substance as follows : 

"Dear Brother Jones : God has given you a sledgehammer with 
which to shatter the formalism of the church, and to batter down 
the strongholds of Satan. The good Spirit is helping you mightily 
to use it. God bless you. 

"D. L. Moody." 

Mr. Jones was in no hurry to invite the unsaved to accept Christ. 
He had been preaching day and night, endeavoring to get the Chris- 
tian people ready for service. Some of the church members had 
been very anxious for him to begin the altar work, but he said : "Un- 
til the church-members of this city make restitution of their fraudu- 
lent bankruptcies, and confess their slanders and forgive one an- 
other, forsaking worldliness and social drinking, gambling and card- 
playing, with other sins that may be in their lives, they are not 



186 Sam P. Jones. 

ready to lead sinners to Christ." Said he: "We pull out the train 
from Cincinnati, and I don't want the brakeman to yell out 'Chatta- 
nooga' when I haven't heard him say 'Lexington,' which is right on 
the road. Let us clean up ourselves, and sinners will be converted." 
When the churches were finally aroused and got right with God 
he began to have after-meetings. There were from fifty to a hun- 
dred who professed conversion each night, and the number increased 
until as many as five hundred were in the after-service, and as many 
as three hundred were happily converted at a service. The interest 
and power of the after-work increased as the services progressed. 
It is out of the question to give a correct estimate of the thousands 
that were brought to Christ during the meeting. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



The: Cincinnati Revival continued). 

The results of the great revival led the ministers to ask 
Mr. Jones to preach a special sermon to them. They felt that a 
man who could wield such an influence in such an ungodly city 
had a message which would help therm in their ministry. He ac- 
cepted the invitation to preach to them. The announcement to 
this effect called out an attendance that crowded the hall of the 
Methodist Publishing House to its utmost capacity, and many could 
not get inside of the doors. He spoke to them in his humorous, 
sarcastic, and sympathetic way. His remarks were forcible and 
expressions striking, which brought down the house several times. 
The sedate ministers forgot themselves, and laughed, cried, and ap- 
plauded, until one would be reminded of a political demonstration. 
Mr. Jones spoke on "The Best Way to Secure Practical Results," 
In a general way he advised with them, as to what a minister should 
do. The drift of his talk, as will be seeen, was towards a greater 
aggressiveness in .the pulpit. He said : "Here in Cincinnati you 
have things in shape to begin a vigorous warfare on sin, and the 
preacher who wants to delay had better surrender. You have things 
here now so that you can convert fifty thousand people in the next 
ten months. It is well enough to preach Christ and Him crucified, 
Christ's love and Christ's mercy, but you want to stop that now and 
tell these wicked old sinners that they have got to repent, that they 
have got to reform 1 . They have listened to your preaching Christ, 
Sunday after Sunday, until they have listened unmoved. One time 
when I was raking some folks over the coals, a good old brother 
came to me and said : 

" 'Brother Jones, you ought to preach a little more to us about 
Christ, and not raise so much noise about other things.' 

(187) 



188 Sam P. Jones. 

"I told the brethren that I would not bring Christ down there 
among such a lot of cutthroats as they were. You want to talk 
to these old sinners about their sins and convince them that they 
are doing wrong. No man is lost in a gospel sense, until you 
make him feel he is lost. Some of us little preachers believe in that 
good old text, 'you must be born again.' If there is any one sermon 
that he preaches on every occasion it is that. Why, it's too much for 
most of us. If I had as much sense as Bishop Fowler here, I might 
try it. Jesus only spoke of the subject once, and that was at mid- 
night, when He had but one man to listen to Him. [Laughter.] 
Whatever hurts the soul or keeps it away from God — that's the 
proper subject of a sermon. Take the preachers of this town. They 
talk to their congregation about drunkenness, and tell them that 
a drunkard can not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and right down 
before them are a lot of distillers and brewers and whiskey-sellers, 
and men who rent their property for improper purposes. 

"You want to talk right to those fellows. If I had one of them 
in my congregation I would make him give up his evil ways, or 
I would make him get out of my church. [Applause.] Some time 
ago I was in a town and I got on this subject. I said I felt satisfied 
that of the whisky-dealers in that place one-fourth were church 
members. Well, that made a great deal of trouble, and at last some 
one made a count and found that of seventy-four in the town sixty- 
one were members of churches; thirteen Methodists, twelve Pres- 
byterians, seventeen Baptists, and so on. No, brethren, don't talk 
Christ and His love to such reprobates. Tell them how wicked they 
are and that they have got to mend their ways. [Applause.] Let 
us stir up these things. The next thing to religion is fun, and if 
we can't do anything else we can have some fun. [Laughter.] The 
trouble is that we are fearful. I, myself, never had any fear of 
guns and pistols and fists, and I was never afraid of running con- 
trary to public opinion; and, I tell you, it takes more courage, 
ofttimes, to take a stand against public opinion than to walk up to 
the mouth of a cannon. Up in Canada, where I have been, if a 
newspaper assails or misrepresents a preacher that preacher sits 
right down and writes a column and a half in defense ;md that: 



Sam P. Jones. 189 

newspaper publishes it the next day. If a newspaper assails any 
of you, you never say a word back. Now, I have seldom had any 
cause to complain of newspaper men. They have treated me very 
fairly as a class. Occasionally some one of them gets on his ear, sits 
down on it, and fans himself with the other (laughter), but they 
have always done well by me as a rule. But there is no doubt but 
they do give currency to slanders against preachers, and the 
preachers won't say a word back. Don't do that any more. Stand 
up for yourselves. Make men respect you as men. Why, look 
how they nominate a preacher at our conferences. . One brother 
wants to know if he is cautious, another wants to know if he is con- 
servative, and so on. They always want a man who is quiet and 
meek, and who will not step on anybod's toes. Well, I feel like 
getting up there and asking if he is a pusillanimous pup. (Ap- 
plause and laughter.) We don't want men to be meek and quiet. 
We want preachers to be aggressive and determined — courageous 
enough to tell the people what miserable sinners they are. Satan 
won this country by fighting, and we must win it back from him 
in the same way, and I wish when you find a man who has raised 
a row in some church, that instead of crushing him, crucifying him, 
you will give him your best charge. To me there is no better recom- 
mendation for a man than that he has raised the devil. That's 
what we must do. We must raise the devil." 

Whether he was preaching to the ministers or the general pub- 
lic, they retired, not weary, but wishing that he had spoken longer. 
The people never tired of his speaking, but left the building 
discussing him in the most enthusiastic way. One young man was 
heard to remark: "I like that man, he seems to believe what he 
says, and there is no nonsense about him." Another one said : "If 
I were a lawyer, or a minister, or any other person accustomed to 
addressing an audience, I would study Sam Jones's style ; there is 
something wonderful in it. It is not oratory such as that taught 
in books and colleges; it is not logic, as lawyers and theologians 
understand and teach it, but it is something outside and beyond all 
this. It is the power to reach and influence the human mind that 
few ministers possess, and fewer still practice." 



-190 Sam P. Jones. 

. That states the case pretty well. To most critical people Mr. 
Jones was a puzzle, but the fact that he was a great power and kept 
himself in the background, and placed in the forefront the great 
truths that filled his mind and controlled his life helped him, to win 
everywhere. Most men would have had their heads: turned by the 
tremendous crowds that hung upon his utterances, but instead of 
being elated, he was always humbled. He realized fully the respon- 
sibility that rested upon him, which made him stay at his Master's 
feet. 

While Mr. Jones was in Cincinnati he had two or three special 
sermons for women. At one time he spoke to the young ladies. 
It was a novel congregation, composed entirely of the younger 
women of the city. The sunshine brought a flood of light through 
the windows of the great Music Hall. It was a beautiful scene to 
see so many thousand young girls and women just from their homes 
with all the life and vivacity of young womanhood. It is said that 
such a scene had never been presented in the Music Hall. Again 
the balcony, auditorium and stage were filled in every corner by 
bright-faced daughters, and a great crowd of young girls stood 
around the walls during the entire sermon. All sections of the 
city were well represented in that vast audience, and a great num- 
ber were present from the suburbs and adjoining cities, Mr. Jones 
said it was one of the grandest sights he had ever seen. He spoke 
to them about "the things that should lie the nearest to the hearts 
of girls, mother, home and heaven." Perhaps he never pleaded more 
tenderly, gently and lovingly than that afternoon while addressing 
the young women of this city. 

Later on he had a special service for "Wives Only." The Music 
Hall was filled from gallery to stage, and from, pulpit to doors. 
There must have been seven thousand wives and mothers in the 
great auditorium.. Mr. Jones preached to them from Galatians 
5 :22, 23 : "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suf- 
fering, and gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; 
against such there is no law." In his sermon he had a great deal 
to say about the worldliness as manifested in card parties, theatri- 
cals, and dancing. He discussed those questions in his own peculiar 



Sam P. Jonss. 191 

way, at times provoking them to laughter, while at other times 
bringing them to tears, and sometimes making them just the least 
bit angry. However, before he was through with his sermon, he 
had brought them around to his way of thinking, as was evidenced 
by the great audience standing and approving what he said, and 
also by the hundreds that went up and gave him, their hands, prom- 
ising to be better wives and mothers. Those special services for 
women were very precious and helpful. 

A distinguished pastor who had been associated with Mr. Jones 
in a great meeting in another State, was passing through Cincin- 
nati and attended the women's meeting. In speaking of it he said : 

"This morning at Music Hall I witnessed a scene such as is 
rarely presented in this world. Five thousand women brought 
together to hear the great evangelist preach to< mothers. And such 
a sermon! How the women laughed and cried as the preacher 
depicted with inimitable wit and wisdom, point and pathos, the way 
women think, talk, live, move, and have their being, in their homes, 
before their children, husbands, and servants. The evangelist had 
one of the grandest opportunities of his life to impress the vital 
truths of the gospel where they would do the most permanent good. 
And well did he improve it. Never did he do more faithful work 
for the Master. Looking upon that scene of five thousand weeping 
women, moved as they were to promise to live better in their homes 
and be more faithful to the religious training of their children, the 
possibilities of the gospel through the power of consecrated homes 
seemed to he truly infinite. The work of that hour, accompanied 
as it was by the Holy Spirit, ought to home thousands in heaven. 
The play and: interplay of thought and feeling upon the thousands 
of upturned faces was a, study not soon to be forgotten." 

Mr. Jones also conducted several special meetings for "men only." 
The mere announcement that the women would be excluded .from; the 
meeting created a stir, and. curiosity was aroused so that the at- 
tendance was larger, if possible, than would have been with a 
mixed audience. The weather was very severe, but the men were 
there in such numbers that the seating of them was a difficult 
problem. Mr. Jones held these men's meetings in order to make 



192 Sam P. Jones. 

room for the men, who would have been excluded by a mixed " 
audience. While he usually preached a very straight and strong 
sermon about the sins of men, at other times he would deliver some 
of his most beautiful and tender sermons. The object was not, as 
some people imagine, to get the men together, that, he might talk 
to them in a coarse way that would not be permitted in a mixed 
audience; but, by bringing the men of the city together, he could 
appeal to them as a community and have greater results. His 
men's meetings were always the most successful of the series. 
When he came on the rostrum he was greeted by a long, hearty 
applause Avhich fairly shook the building. Such scenes always 
inspired him to be at his best, and he was never so much at home 
as when speaking to a body of men. He seemed to understand 
their hearts, know their needs, be conscious of their weaknesses, and 
have sympathy and love for them. While discussing their be- 
setting sins, going through the catalogue, making them hideous, 
he was always in deepest sympathy with them, and while talking 
to them about their profanity, dishonesty, gambling, drunkenness, 
and other vices, the great audience at times was wild with enthusi- 
astic approval, while at other times was as still as death. 

Mr. Jones had preached to them that there is not one standard 
for woman and another for man. His remarks had produced a 
deathlike stillness over the great audience. In further discussing 
a clean life, he referred to a tragedy that had just happened in Cin- 
cinnati. W T ith his sense of justice outraged, he looked the men 
square in the face and said: "Men, hear me, I picked up the 
Enquirer and read that a young man of this city, of a prominent 
family, was at a shameless house, a prominent house of shame, 
last night; he walked in and said to the woman of the house: 'I 
want to see one of the prettiest girls you have,' and then walked 
up to the room he generally occupied. He entered that room, 
presently a girl came sweeping in, and he struck a match and lit 
the gas and turned his eye on the girl, and instantly jerked his pistol 
from his hip-pocket — bang, bang — and with a heavy, dull thud 
the girl fell upon the floor and died. They ran into the room and 
said : 'Oh, what have you done ?' He said : 'That is my own 



Sam P. Jones. 193 

sister, and I will kill her before she shall come to a house like 
this." And I say to you thousands of men, fathers, husbands, and 
sons, that that girl had as much right in that house as her brother 
had." 

Perhaps there was never an audience that was so profoundly 
moved as the one that heard the true and brave friend of both men 
and women speak out in such a strong and manly way. The ap- 
plause was appalling, and thousands of men went away believing 
as the man of God, who had been so fearless in defending the 
daughters and mothers of our homes. How true it was as Mr. 
Jones said : "If there was ever a man that stood on the front steps 
of the American homes and fought off the devil and his crowd, 
that man was Sam Jones." 

It was not my privilege to be in Cincinnati all the time during 
his stay there. He had been in the city between three and four 
weeks when I joined him. The results of the great men's meeting 
were the talk of the city when I arrived. Three of our daughters, 
Mary, Annie and Julia, accompanied me. Upon our arrival in the 
city we were domiciled at the Gibson house. 

A Times-Star reporter called upon Mr. Jones that morning, and 
this interview appeared in the afternoon paper. I shall ask the 
reader to indulge me the privilege of inserting this interview, which 
is somewhat personal. It reads as follows : 

"Sam Jones is happy now. His wife and three daughters are 
with him at the Gibson House, and they are living as cosily and 
quietly as they could in their little home down in Cartersville, Ga. 

"The Jones family occupies a pleasant suite of rooms on the fourth 
floor, and have everything comfortable and convenient about them. 
When the Times-Star man called this morning, Mr. Jones said: 
'This is my wife, Mrs. Laura Jones,' presenting a handsome lady 
with much evident pride ; 'and these are my daughters, Annie and 
Mary,' continued the revivalist. Mrs. Jones is just such a woman 
as you would naturally imagine her to be. Ten chances to one, if 
you should meet her on the street, you would turn and say to your 
companion, 'That must be Mrs. Sam P. Jones.' She reminds one 
somewhat of her distinguished husband. She has the same char- 



194 Sam P. Jonss. 

acter of eyes, bright and sparkling, and only a shade lighter com- 
plexion. Her voice has the same musical mellowness, and when 
she is earnestly moved you see the same enthusiasm in her manner 
that has marked and made the reputation of her husband. 

"She is thoroughly a Southern woman in disposition and sym- 
pathies. She is finely educated, not only in literature, but in per- 
sonal graces. She is a charming conversationalist, and you will 
not be in her presence long before you will have discovered that 
she is a superior person, with the most delicate appreciation of 
culture and propriety. Being asked how long she would remain 
in Cincinnati, Mrs. Jones replied: 'We expect to stay a week, at 
least, and maybe longer. My husband was just getting a little 
lonesome and homesick. He hadn't been with us for a long time, 
you know, and we came up to comfort him.' " 

The closing days Mr. Jones preached some of his most earnest, 
pathetic and soul-stirring sermons. The religious tide was rising 
higher each day. The people were coming in from towns in all 
directions, and the city was stirred to its very depths. At nearly 
all the services, at the noonday meeting, the afternoon and evening 
services, hundreds were being converted. It was estimated that 
nearly six hundred converts daily were made during those last 
days. The great work was going on with a vim and vigor that 
promised much for the future. Dr. Joyce said: "That despite 
what many say, those who have been converted by the wonderful 
words of Mr. Jones will be led into better paths of life, and they 
will continue in them, as the influence that has been stirred in 
them is not of an evanescent character, but it has gone down deep, 
and will remain and be permanent." In speaking of the financial 
understanding with Mr. Jones as to his compensation, he said: 
"There are people who think they have information to the effect 
that Mr. Jones had a definite arrangement as to the amount Trinity 
church should pay him for his services. This is a grave mistake. 
Mr. Jones agreed to come without a word as to what he should be 
paid, and that he would come to Cincinnati if he did not receive a 
cent, but got his meals. When the fact is thoroughly understood, 
as it is hoped it will be, that Mr. Jones is here without promise or 



Sam P. Jones. 195 

expectation of any remuneration, the people should appreciate the 
work he has done and show their gratitude to God by contributing 
liberally to a special collection for Mr. Jones." 

When the opportunity was given the free-will offering amounted 
to something over eight hundred dollars. 

After five weeks of earnest labor Mr. Jones concluded his services 
in Cincinnati. It was one of the most remarkable revivals in the 
city's history. He was in Cincinnati for two other meetings and 
lectured there a number of times, holding a strong grip upon the 
city until the very last. Just a year ago he held his last great 
meeting in that city in the large Music Hall, and thousands waited 
upon his ministry. 

We notice on the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer, dated 
February 15, 1886, an account of the closing service of his first 
great meeting there : 

"The services of last evening concluded the labors of Sam Jones 
in Cincinnati. For five weeks he has been laboring in God's cause 
in this city, and his efforts have been crowned with unparalleled 
success. Never before was such a religious awakening known in 
Cincinnati. Large crowds have attended the services both day and 
night, and the revivalist has averaged two sermons each day. Con- 
versions have been many, and thousands of people sincerely regret 
the departure of the earnest and plain-spoken preacher from the 
city. It was generally known that yesterday was the last day of 
his stay here, and every one who had heard him wanted to hear 
him again, while those who had not were anxious to embrace the 
last opportunity. Early in the afternoon policemen were stationed 
at the doors to control the crowd. For a, time the street was com- 
pletely blocked for two squares by the great crowds coming and 
going. It is not an extravagant estimate to say that fifty thousand 
people sought admission to Music Hall last night. 

"As early as half-past five o'clock in the afternoon a large crowd 
of people had already assembled in front of the building awaiting 
the opening of the doors. By six o'clock, at which hour promptly 
the doors were thrown open, the crowd in front of the building had 
been so largely augmented that within ten minutes after the doors 



196 Sam P. Jones. 

opened ten thousand people were rammed, jammed and packed in 
every nook and corner of that immense building. A reporter, who 
came along fifteen minutes after six o'clock, had great difficulty in 
working his way to the front by reason of the crowds that thronged 
the aisles and every inch of standing-room in the hall. A few 
minutes later the doors were shut and bolted, it being dangerous 
to admit any more people. At seven o'clock Elm street from 
Twelfth to Fourteenth streets was one surging black sea, of hu- 
manity — the locked out. That no one was crushed to death is a 
miracle. There were at least forty thousand people around Music 
Hall. All the street-cars were completely blockaded, and the streets 
were utterly impassable. Mr. Jones drove up to the hall a little 
after seven o'clock, and, with the aid of a stalwart policeman, en- 
trance was forced part of the way, when finally the policemen took 
him up on their shoulders and carried him to the entrance of the 
building. When he reached the hall he was almost breathless and 
bewildered, looking as if he had had a personal encounter with some 
demonstrative admirer. When he walked out on the platform he 
was greeted with prolonged applause. 

"Facing the vast audience he said: 'I thank God the gospel of 
Jesus Christ can overdraw anything else in Cincinnati. The ten 
thousand people who got in and the forty thousand who didn't, 
brand the statement as a slander that this is a wicked, lawless and 
irreligious city. There is no truer, nobler or better city in the 
world than Cincinnati.' 

"After preaching his farewell sermon from Proverbs 3:17, "Her 
ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace," he told 
the immense audience good-by. Dr. Joyce stepped out to the end. 
of the platform and taking the hand of Mr. Jones, who remained 
looking at the immense congregation, he clasped it warmly. Mr. 
Jones returned the hand-pressure, and hand: to hand the two rev- 
erend gentlemen turned to the congregation and Mr. Jones said: 
'Brethren, I can not shake hands with you all personally, as I am 
nearly worn out, having had to- remain in my room all the after- 
noon to gather strength to preach to you to-night, but in shaking 



Sam P.'Jonks. 197 

hands with Dr. Joyce I shake hands with you all. Good-by, 
brethren, and may we all meet together again in the glorious here- 
after and once again shake hands if we never meet here on earth. 
Good-by, brethren, good-by/ " 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Th£ Chicago Campaign. 

Mr. Jones having closed a five-weeks' meeting in Cincinnati, his 
next great undertaking was in the city of Chicago. His fame had 
preceded him until all Chicago was anxiously awaiting his arrival. 
Several times the question had come up regarding his holding a 
meeting in Chicago. Dr. P. S. Henson, pastor of the First Baptist 
church, was in St. Louis when Mr. Jones held a meeting there. He 
was captivated by the Southern evangelist, and had a talk with him 
about going to Chicago. Mr. Jones expressed a willingness to 
go, provided he could get the union or the cooperation of the 
majority of the churches. Dr. Henson, upon his return to the city, 
conferred with a number of the pastors regarding his coming, but 
the idea was not received with favor. Many of the pastors were 
outspoken in their opposition and refused to cooperate in such a 
movement. 

Later on Mr. Jones went to Chicago to deliver a lecture. Mr. 
James Smithson, who was instrumental in getting him there to 
lecture, was besieged by half a dozen reporters for interviews re- 
garding his coming. The people began to manifest a great deal 
of interest in Mr. Jones and his proposed visit to the city. 

Dr. Henson again proposed his name before the pastors on the 
South Side for a series of union revival services. Still the sug- 
gestion was not received very enthusiastically; but, finally, a com- 
mittee was appointed to go to Cincinnati to hear Mr. Jones preach. 
The prejudices of the committee were soon swept away, and they 
unanimously favored getting him) for Chicago. One of the brother 
preachers said that Dr. McPherson, the chairman, was so pleased 
with Mr. Jones that "he swallowed him; whole." Mr. Jones was 
engaged by the committee to visit Chicago in the near future. 

(198) 



Sam P. Jonss. 19.9 

The only terms stipulated by Mr. Jones with the committee was 
that he should have the cooperation of the South Side churches, 
and the committee assured him of that. 

He knew that it was a big undertaking to evangelize Chicago. 
In speaking of it he said: "It is like biting a pumpkin; your teeth 
won't take hold of it." However, he was willing to go where his 
Master called. Evangelistic work in Chicago, as in Cincinnati, had 
always been difficult. The churches had tried and had dismal 
failures. There had been union efforts on the part of the churches in 
different sections of the city, which had failed to bring about the de- 
sired results. Practically, the whole city had united and cooperated 
with prominent evangelists, using the largest auditoriums in the 
central part of the city, and still these meetings did not solve the 
problems of evangelizing Chicago. 

Mr. Jones was an entirely different preacher from, any one who 
had ever tried to reach Chicago. The other evangelists had ap- 
pealed to the emotion and intellect of the people, but Mr. Jones 
came along with his sledgehammer blows and took a middle ground 
and began to appeal to the consciences of men and women. While 
Mr. Jones conducted his meetings on a very high, intellectual plane, 
which led Dr. David Swing to say that it was the most intellectual 
revival ever held in Chicago, nevertheless, his appeals were really 
directed to> the consciences of men. So many people doubted 
whether Chicago had any conscience, and, if it did, it was so sub- 
merged that it would take time to remove the debris before the 
work could really be effected. His style, manner, and methods 
seemed to have been' most appropriate and suitable for this occasion. 
Therefore, being on the "mountain-tops," because of his great and 
glorious victory in Cincinnati, he moved on towards Chicago with 
strong faith in God and with a dauntless courage and an indomi- 
table determination to push the battle to a finish. Baptized with 
the Holy Ghost, he followed the leadership of the Spirit to Chicago. 

Mr. Jones reached Chicago on Saturday evening, February 17, 
1886, accompanied by his stenographic clerk, Prof. M. J. Max- 
well, and others. Professor Maxwell was not at that time regularly 
enlisted with Mr. Jones, but his excellent leadership', together with 



200 Sam P. Jones. 

his Christian character, had commended him to Mr. Jones, all of 
which ultimately resulted in his regular association with him. At 
Monee Station, some fifty miles from Chicago, the train bearing 
Mr. Jones and party was boarded by newspaper reporters, detailed 
by the press of Chicago to interview him, all of the papers ap- 
parently being eager for the first and fullest sketch of the man; 
the Tribune printed three columns the morning after his arrival 
devoted to a personal description of him, with an epitomized sketch 
of his life, together with an interview on various matters. Large 
preparations had been made for the expected services in Chicago, 
and Mr. Jones was received with open arms by thousands of people. 
Adhering to his usual rule of stopping at a hotel in preference to 
accommodations in a private family, splendid quarters had been 
provided him at the Sherman House, to which place he was driven 
when he reached the city ; a delegation of citizens and pastors met 
him at the depot and accompanied him to his hotel. 

Sunday morning was a cold, blustering, snowy day, but the 
Chicago Avenue church (Moody's Tabernacle), in which Mr. Jones 
delivered the initial sermon in Chicago, was filled to overflowing. 
Late-comers had to content themselves with standing in the extreme 
edge of the auditorium. The Chicago Avenue church was built 
by the exertions of Mr. Moody, the evangelist, several years be- 
fore, and was an edifice loved by him. When Mr. Jones reached 
the platform of the church he surveyed a m'ass of anxious and 
curious spectators, and immediately in front and below him was 
a solid phalanx of newspaper reporters. Mr. Jones was intro- 
duced by Rev. Charles Frederick Goss, the pastor of the church. 
After a characteristic introductory, by which Mr. Jones put his 
hearers in good humor and in sympathy with themselves and with 
him, he launched out into his regular sermon, and spoke for an 
hour, and was listened to with rapt attention. His text on this 
occasion was from the sixteenth verse of the fifth chapter of St. 
Matthew, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see 
your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 
These words the eminent revivalist characterized as "the glorious 
and grand string of monosyllabic utterances." 



Sam P. Jonks. 201 

In speaking of the faculty of faith he satirized the popular ac- 
ceptation of faith thus: "A great many people think that faith is 
an attitude of this sort towards God; your hands and your mouth 
open wide to catch something that God is going to pitch to you ; an 
attitude of receptivity, saying, 'O Lord, give me something.' 'Well, 
what do you want?' 'I don't know, just give me something — any- 
thing you please.' They think faith is an attitude of taking some- 
thing, and I will tell you the truth — that all through the country 
we have been running on the sentiment there is in this idea of faith 
until our whole Christianity, if it were an engine, would have gone 
altogether into the whistle and could do nothing but blow all over 
God's creation." This unique and original unfolding of the popular 
and absurd idea of faith was received with unsuppressed laughter, 
but served as food for thought to many. 

The Casino Skating Rink on the South Side, an immense audi- 
torium, had been secured for the night meetings. The first service 
held there by Mr. Jones was on the afternoon of his first Sunday 
in Chicago, when fully six thousand people were present. The 
choir, which consisted o>f nearly two hundred singers, was arranged 
on a huge platform from: which Mr. Jones spoke; many notable 
divines and prominent laymen were also on the platform. The 
audience on this, as on every other occasion when Mr. Jones 
preached, was attentive and appreciative. The speaker again looked 
upon at least thirty-five reporters for the press, the majority of 
whom were stenographers, not alone for the great dailies of Chicago, 
but representatives of the press from- St. Louis, Cincinnati, and 
other distant cities. Right here may he mentioned the ordeal that 
Mr. Jones had to encounter in consequence of all of his utterances 
being daily printed in the papers of the cities mentioned. It will be 
remembered that he held revival services lasting four weeks in 
St. Louis, closing there late in December, and every sermon de- 
livered during that time had been reported verbatim and published 
daily, and following immediately upon these services came the 
wonderful revival conducted by Mr. Jones in the Music Hall in 
Cincinnati, which continued for five weeks. Here, too, every pub- 
lic utterance was published broadcast by the Commercial Gazette 



202 Sam P. Jones. 

and the Enquirer, not to say anything of the reports of the lesser 
lights of the press. And now in Chicago the principal papers of 
the two cities mentioned had reporters! present to telegraph nightly 
the discourses delivered by Mr. Jones; The Globe-Democrat, of 
St. Louis, and the two papers alluded to in Cincinnati had leased 
Western Union Telegraph wires, and; simultaneously with the issues 
of the Chicago papers gave their readers the same sermons preached 
the day before. The ordeal was as unprecedented as it was severe. 
As a prominent newspaper man said : "The press has never in the 
world's history followed any man so closely, be he king, potentate 
or preacher." Mr. Jonesi had preached probably one hundred ser- 
mons during his St. Louis services, and had not preached 1 less than 
one hundred and fifty times in his revival in Cincinnati, making a 
total of two hundred and fifty sermons in little more than two 
months, and here he was entering the arena for another combat 
with sin and evil and wrong methods of life, and yet he must take 
care not to: use exactly the same weapons of words. The people 
to whom he had just preached ; would not be content to read repeti- 
tions, and while Mr. Jones may not at that time have thought or 
even cared for what the world would say, it is. nevertheless true 
that his repetitions were few indeed. True it is, that he had the 
same sins and hypocrisies to denounce that he had elsewhere, but 
the wonderful fertility of hisi mental resources furnished him con- 
stantly new words and brighter illustrations. 

The reports of these daily services were to be given to the entire 
United States through the press of Chicago and 1 the other great 
cities, where the daily papers were giving verbatim reports of the 
sermons. Perhaps the scheme inaugurated by these great daily pa- 
pers was the most remarkable that was ever connected with a revival 
campaign. There were three or four stenographers representing 
each paper, with a number of copyists near by, and, while the ser- 
mon was being delivered, this work of reporting, transcribing and 
telegraphing was going on. One set of workers, relieving another, 
and each word as it fell from! the lips of Mr. Jones was flashing 
over the wires in every direction. In speaking of this great honor 
Mr. Jones said : 



Sam P. Jones. -203 

"Take the work in Chicago', for instance. In the Inter-Ocean 
and Tribune, the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette and Enquirer, and 
the St. Louis Globe-Democrat , all of them with an aggregated 
circulation of three hundred thousand, and with the reasonable cal- 
culation of five readers to a copy circulated, I enjoyed the privilege 
of preaching to a million and a half persons a day — a wonderful 
congregation for one preacher, and a, privilege, I dare say, that no 
other man in the history of the Church has ever enjoyed. Think 
of it, nine thousand words each night, as they flashed out on eighteen 
different telegraph wires to the cities of St. Louis and Cincinnati 
while they were being set in type by the papers of Chicago ! Thus, 
at the breakfast-table the next morning, in these three cities, I was 
greeted by three hundred thousand readers, and before the sun 
went down that day a million and a half more had read the words. 
From the statement of newspaper men, I suppose that is a reason- v 
able estimate. The secular papers are so much more alive and 
aggressive than the religious papers that when' they fall into line 
with a good work they are a power we scarcely know how to esti- 
mate." 

For the first fortnight Mr. Jones preached three times daily, in 
the morning, usually at some church, at the noon hour, in Farwell 
Hall (Y. M. C. A.) or at the Rink, and at night, always at the last- 
named place. This great hall at night was brilliantly illuminated 
by gas and electricity, and', as it was said, "the light was pleasantly 
reflected from, the faces of the immense audiences." The audiences 
to which he preached daily in Chicago numbered between ten and 
twelve thousand people, the Rink alone holding between five and 
seven thousand persons at a service. 

Mr. Jones's method in a series of services, as already indicated, 
was always first to stir up the churches, to show the fallacy and 
sinfulness of a mechanical worship, a pretended worship of God by 
the lips only. He invariably turned the so-called Christians over 
and over, and presented the interior of truth to* them and compelled 
them to look steadily at it, and showed them sin in all its hideous- 
ness, nor did the preachers themselves escape his keen satire. 

Speaking of Mr. Jones in a sermon preached in Chicago while 



204 Sam P. Joxes. 

he was there, Rev. C. S. Blackwell, of St. Louis, said : "Mr. Jones 
does not stop to prove there is a God, but assumes such a thing to 
be true. He assumes the latent conviction of Christianity in the 
human heart and he strives to stir up this conviction; he realizes 
that the churches are full of sleeping and apathetic Christians, and 
something is needed to wake them up. Mr. Jones, by his crude way 
and some gigantic thoughts, awakened the Christian community. 
Many men outside of the church, including lawyers, teachers and 
business men, carry their own convictions and have them wrapped 
up and laid away, while many clergymen are too polite to break in 
upon their apathy, but Jones comes along and does it; the result 
that has followed his work is wonderful. He did a great deal of 
good in St. Louis and will do so in Chicago." 

Some of the papers in Chicago printed sketches of the postures 
and gestures alleged to be assumed by Mr. Jones while speaking. 
All of them had descriptions of his appearance as he stood before 
his audiences, some of which were really amusing. 

Mr. Jones won his way to the hearts of the people of Chicago 
completely before he had been with them three days, the great 
newspapers following him closely in all his remarks, devoting as 
much as thirteen columns each day to his sermons. 

An episode occurred on the second day of Mr. Jones's stay in 
Chicago that created, for a short time, a little ripple of excitement 
among some of the church people. In the afternoon on that day 
Mr. Jones preached at the First Baptist church to an audience of 
about fifteen hundred people, choosing for his text the first verse 
of First Thessalonians — "Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, unto 
the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in 
the Lord Jesus Christ." In the course of his sermon he compared 
the modern church to a schoolboy's copybook. The first line on 
the page was fashioned after the copy and was comparatively fair, 
the next line was not so good, and so on until the last was the 
worst, bearing but faint resemblance to the original copy. There 
had been some progress in theology, but none in Christianity. 
"The text," he said, "showed that the early church lived in God." 
During the sermon Mr. Jones remarked : "It takes prayer to have 



Sam P. Jones. 205 

good preaching, it takes prayer to have good listeners. How many 
of you prayed for the success of this meeting before coming down 
here to-day? Let all stand up who got down on their knees before 
coming to this meeting." 

A few arose and Mr. Jones continued, saying : "I could, I think, 
get a better meeting in Hong-Kong than this, for I could not 
find a congregation there as large as this with so few people 
who prayed." Several persons then said they had prayed while 
they were coming to the meeting, among them Rev. Dr. Scudder. 
"Has any one else any exculpatory remarks to make?" asked Mr. 
Jones. "They are not exculpatory, they are true," interposed Dr. 
Scudder. 

An old gentleman arose and said he had been praying with a 
gambler, but he did not believe it necessary to get down on his 
knees to pray. After some remarks, Mr. Jones explained that he 
did not mean to use the word "exculpatory" in the sense of censure, 
but in the sense of an explanation, and the fashionable church-mem- 
bers were somewhat mollified. 

One short little pen-sketch of Mr. Jones as he appeared to a 
Chicago audience, published in the Inter-Ocean of that city in its 
reports of one of his sermons, is so true that it is reproduced here : 
"In the meantime a man steps quietly in and up to the platform — 
the man on whom so many Chicagoans are looking at present — the 
Rev. Sam Jones. For a while he sits in silence, occasionally ex- 
changing a word with some pastor near, and then, after another 
song, the look of expectancy on the faces of the audience finds satis- 
faction in the presence at the desk of the revivalist. Slowly, and 
what in some men would be a slipshod style, but which in him 
is unaffected and attractive, the speaker begins and gradually warms 
up to his subject. He rarely goes beyond the boundary of conver- 
sational tones, and goes not at all over into the alluring but un- 
profitable field of declamatory vehemence. The people near the 
speaker can see something beside the odd gestures, the peculiar, 
slow, short step, the apparently absent-minded movement of the 
hand to the pocket or forehead, and this somehing is the smile of 
the revivalist, quaint, kindly, quizzical almost, a smile that starts 



206 Sam P. Jones. 

in no place in particular and spreads over the face until it touches 
every feature and brings out the whole in a new and pleasing light. 
At one time one may think it the oddity of expression that attracts, 
at another the Southern slowness, at another the laconic expression, 
at another the witty stories, at another time the earnest appeal for 
higher, nobler, purer, better lives; but all the time one can not but 
find interest in what is said, and said so strongly." 

The club-houses, palatial and luxurious, in Chicago', as in many 
other cities, are patronized by the millionaires and ultra-fashionable 
men of the community, but Mr. Jones soon discovered that though 
wealth, fashion and influence controlled them,, they were in fact 
but gilded dens of vice and godlessness. So in one of his early 
sermons to many thousand hearers he scored the club-life severely, 
saying: "Whenever you go into a club-house that has a billiard- 
table and a card-room in it, tell them that I say it is the ante-room 
to hell to every man who goes into it [applause] ; that is the only 
definition of it I will give. I don't care if the house they occupy 
costs a million dollars, decanters out of which they poured their 
wine are fifty dollars each; I don't care if their cards are silk cards 
and they play them on mahognay tables, or if their billiard-tables 
cost ten thousand dollars apiece and their billiard-balls fifty dollars 
apiece, I say to you the more you gild sin the more it stinks in the 
nostrils of God." 

Some attacks were made on Mr. Jones's indiscriminate denuncia- 
tion of fashionable society. He characterized society as a "hollow, 
dirty, cowardly, sneaking, miserable wretch. Heartless ! heartless !" 
Defining his position of it he said: "Whenever you see a card- 
room in a house, a wine-room and a billiard-room, let me say to you 
there is a family that belongs to the society of the city, whether the 
remainder of the crowd will acknowledge them' or not. It is owing 
to how much money you have got and how freely you spend it 
whether they will take you in or not. In all of my experience I have 
never met a single man who prayed in his family night and morn- 
ing, and paid his just debts and lived honestly, who would cover 
up the cards in his house." Referring to the charges made by a few 
that he said unjust things in his attack upon sin and he ought to 



Sam P. Jones. 207 

apologize for some of his utterances, he said in his characteristic 
way : "I get to the point sometimes where they say, 'Jones, you said 
some mighty hard things. You ought to apologize.' Ought to 
apologize? Well, sir, if I say a thing while I am in Chicago that 
hurts a man who prays night and morning in his family, and pays 
his just debts, and hasn't but one wife [laughter], lives right before 
good men, if I hurt that sort of a man I will apologize every time. 
But I will die before I will apologize to you uncircumcised Philis- 
tines. I won't do it." [Applause.] 



CHAPTER XIX. 



The; Chicago Campaign (Continued.) 

Chicago had had much experience in revival and reform work. 
Mr. Jones's unique style and peculiar place in the evangelistic world 
put people to thinking and talking. 

The interest became so intense that the newspapers resorted to 
every conceivable plan to find out the minds of the people regarding 
the evangelist and the great meeting. They sent out reporters to 
interview the saloon-keepers to get their opinion of Sam Jones and 
his work. They gave much space to these interviews with the 
saloon-keepers. Almost every one said practically the same thing. 
Of course they had to speak of his work from a mercenary stand- 
point and accuse him of being out for the money there was in it. 
They also declared that they were attending to their own business, 
and that Mr. Jones ought to attend to his. Some of them declared 
that his preaching hadn't affected the class that patronized their 
saloons, while others admitted freely and frankly that he was hurt- 
ing their business considerably. After interviewing the saloon- 
keepers, they made a round of the business men and prominent cit- 
izens.. Then they interviewed several eminent ministers who gave 
their views regarding Mr. Jones and his work, which were also 
published. Among those that expressed themselves on the subject 
were Professor David Swing, Dr. H. W. Thomas, Dr. S. J. McPher- 
son and Dr. P. S. Henson. These opinions are thought worthy of 
a place here, and, therefore, are inserted. Mr. Frank Hatton, editor 
of the Mail, sent out these interviewers, and the following answers 
were received. While we can not print all the estimates that 
were sent in, we have selected several from the more prominent 
ministers. 

Prof. David Swing said : "In reply to your inquiry, my answer 

(208) 



Sam P. Jones. 209 

is given in favor of Sam Jones. I have made quite a study of him. 
He is a most powerful exponent and advocate of the religion of 
action — the religion of character as opposed to that of mere belief 
and mere melancholy sentiment. Sam Jones has no doubt seen in 
the South the average religion of the colored person, who will sing 
till midnight Tse gwine hum to glory/ and who, after church, on 
his way to his earthly cabin will steal a chicken or two — his religious 
glory having oozed out of him while he was passing the hen-house. 
This revivalist is the most intellectual one Chicago has yet enjoyed ; 
and, should the converts not be numerous, those who shall be enrolled 
will be placed upon a basis of solid sense rather than upon one of 
hymn-singing and transient sentiment. Sam Jones deals only in 
great commodities — love of righteousness and hatred of evil; love 
of Christ and aversion to Satan, and in the obligations of every 
person to follow Christ and abandon the devil. His anecdotes, 
wit and personal oddities rivet attention and make old truths as 
fresh as though they had just been discovered. 

' 'I think now more highly of Mr. Jones than I thought of him 
before he came, because his manner and spirit are a part of his 
power which the reporters could not touch. He abuses kindly. He 
calls us fools and lunatics, but still he likes us. Fools as we are he 
is anxious to have us get to heaven, both on earth and beyond. His 
heaven is here to-day, as well as over yonder to-morrow. He asso- 
ciates God's spirit and men's common sense, prayer and good, hard 
work, and makes God help those who help themselves. Up' to this 
day Sam Jones seems a valuable Christian moral force." 

The Rev. S. P. McPherson took the position that Mr. Jones's 
denunciation of amusement is too indiscriminate. He said : "Cur- 
rent objections to 'Sam Jones' apply mainly to the method rather 
than to the matter of his preaching. Like Mr. Moody, and even 
like St. Paul, he violates the laws of grammar and rhetoric; like 
the average he uses: 'slang' which everybody understands, and se- 
vere good taste condemns. Well, society novel and pleasure of 'the 
French school,' 'art for art's sake,' newspaper reports of crime and 
vice, insinuate all sorts of moral abominations in an artistic form 

8j 



210 Sam P. Jones. 

which renders them tolerable to fastidious tastes. The sermons of a 
'cultivated' preacher may become standard literature without griping 
the country. The real question is, whether we shall fear to break 
the canon of esthetics or the Ten Commandments. Shall we 
measure life by the fine arts or by good morals? 'Slang' is bad in 
its own sphere, even though it should be incorporated in the classics 
of our grandchildren, but sin is fatally and unchangeably bad to all 
eternity. 

"Again, there is the usual fear of a 'reaction' from the influence 
of this evangelist because he is a revivalist. But is there more peril 
in a possible reaction than in the prevailing moral stagnation? 
There is no danger of any reaction against this stagnation except 
in a revival. Shall the wicked never arouse lest some of them 
should relapse ? The whole history of morals and religions show 
that God never asked such a question. This sort of logic would 
have dissuaded Christ fromi coming to Bethlehem, and Calvary. 
We become so habituated to sin that we disparage or even justify 
it ; we sometimes go so far as to make merchandise of it, but Mr. 
Jones is raising moral issues in this great community. It is in the 
light of this fact that we ought to measure his treatment of certain 
'amusements.' Like many others I regard his denunciations of them 
as too indiscriminate. But I should dislike to be so 'narrow- 
gauged' as to deny him: the right to his own opinion and interpreta- 
tion of them. Even if he does err on the side of stringency, any one 
may fairly ask whether the common error be not on the side of 
laxity. We may well thank him. for compelling us to review our 
estimate of them;, not in the light of their business success., of their 
pleasureableness, but of their relations to Christianity and their in- 
fluence upon health and morals. If the general tendency of these 
things is toward Jesus Christ, Mr. Jones is wrong; but not other- 
wise. The moral 'reaction' of his teachings on this point can be 
easily measured by experience and by Scripture. The lapse into 
moral indifference over them seems to me far more perilous than 
any probable relapse resulting from: a revision of our opinions of 
them with special regard to the final judgment of God. But what- 
ever his imperfections, he seems to have the seal of God's approval 



Sam P. Jones. 211 

and he finds the way to sinners' hearts. It is not, therefore, my 
duty to repulse him because he has limitations ; it is rather my priv- 
ilege to cooperate with him, because he preaches truth in his own 
way." 

Rev. P. S. Henson hails the event of the evangelist with exceed- 
ing satisfaction. He said: "In response to your request for an 
expression of my opinion as to 'the good results' likely to follow 
from the evangelistic labors of Mr. Jones, it gives me pleasure to 
say that for one that I hail his coming with exceeding satisfaction, 
and that for several reasons which I do not hesitate thus publicly 
to avow. First of all, I rejoice to believe that through him the 
gospel was preached to a great multitude of people, such as do not 
ordinarily attend any places of worship. Faith comes by hearing. 
All the gospel asks for is an honest hearing, and this man, with 
his grand humor, audacious courage, palpable sincerity and homely 
yet manly style of speech is sure to have hearing. And whenever 
the gospel gets a hearing it always proves the power of God unto 
salvation, in the nineteenth century no> less than the first. 

"In the second place, there are great public questions touching 
public morals and public decency, touching Sabbath-breaking, rum- 
drinking and rum-selling, gambling, licentiousness, fraudulent deal- 
ing, and what in his vigorous vernacular this evangelist should 
brand as 'downright meanness' that need be treated with just such 
sledgehammers as he knows how to wield. Nothing but steamham- 
mer blows like these will wake a city plunged in sinful apathy. Oh, 
for the days of Moody ! cries out somebody who is hurt. For one, I 
believe in Moody with all my heart, but this man is doing a work 
that Moody never did, and yet that mightily needs to be done. 
History records not the name of a single great reformer that did 
not wear a hairy mantle and deal blows with a bludgeon. Such 
an one was Martin Luther, and such was John Knox, and Elijah 
and John the Baptist. The complaint brought against the early 
Christians was that they were disturbers of the public peace, 'pesti- 
lent fellows,' that were turning the world 'upside down.' My own 
very clear conviction is that Jones is in the line of 'Apostolic suc- 
cession,' and that his coming to Chicago will prove a great and 
lasting blessing." * 



212 Sam P. Jones. 

Rev. H. W. Thomas expects good results from the preaching of 
the Southern evangelist. He says: "Christ commissions us to 
preach it to all the world; but regular methods of evangelization 
actually touch only the minority. Critics object to Mr. Jones's 
wit and humor. But if wit and humor open doors which were 
otherwise closed to the gospel why should its friends not rejoice? 
The moral quality of laughter depends upon its associations. If it 
can be made to« cast up a highway by which the Son of God can 
enter human hearts it has returned to its true usage; it is then as 
good as tears or fastings. Why should we renounce any method, 
however unfamiliar, that brings men back to God. Let us fear 
lest there be no less danger of bigotry in our methods than in our 
theology. Let us rejoice, like Paul, 'that in every way Christ is 
proclaimed.' For one I welcome every method that makes the 
proclamation more widespread. 

"Mr. Jones is a preacher of righteousness. He makes few appeals 
to emotion or sentimentality. He is a modern John the Baptist, 
who powerfully exhorts; us all to bring forth fruits meet for repent- 
ance. He plows through the subsoil of sin and turns it up into the 
sunlight. Some objection is made by many worthy Christians that 
he does not sufficiently preach the 'gospel' in the sense of a free 
and gracious salvation by Christ. It is true that he does not put 
the emphasis of his preaching on that point. But what do we need 
first? No man will turn to Christ for salvation until after he dis- 
covers the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and in my belief the sense of 
damning sin is just what our age chiefly lacks. . 

"In one of his sermons Brother Jones said that 'the greatest 
preacher that ever stood in the pulpit in Chicago is the preacher 
that has got the most love for the human family. I ami running 
on love, love that says, "I am going on with my work trying to 
save my fellows.' " There is a want, a generous catholicity in these 
words that should win all of our hearts. 

"Brother Jones has no sympathy with the old doctrine of impu- 
tation; that the sin of Adam was imputed through the race and 
that God would have destroyed this world long ago if Christ had 
not died. 'Now, listen to me,' he says, 'my intelligence, my man- 



Sam P. Jonss. 213 

hood, could never love a God, who made Christ die to satisfy his 
wrath, but when you say God loves us and Christ died as a man- 
ifestation of that love, when you put it that way, I can love him 
with all my heart/ This is the doctrine of the suffering of love 
to save, and against it infidelity can bring no argument. Let us 
all rejoice that Brother Jones preaches this blessed truth, and not 
that Christ died to 'reconcile the father' or to satisfy justice. 

"As to the general effects of such teaching, conjoined with the 
powerful emphasis that he places upon truth and justice and all 
moral virtues, they must be good. And his manner of emphasizing 
the 'need of good sense' in religion is most healthy. He may seem 
over-positive in some things, but as a revivalist he should be pos- 
itive, and one should easily forgive his earnestness when it may 
to us seem to go to extremes in some things." 

Rev. George C. Lorimer, D.D., of the Emanuel Baptist church, 
was not talkative on the subject. 

"I regard it," said he, "a somewhat delicate matter for ministers 
to express themselves about what they think of Mr. Jones. He 
is to a certain extent our guest, and we are bound in all honor to 
stand by him. I would not offer any criticisms under the circum- 
stances. 

"I think the work has started out well. He has made progress. 
We can hardly judge it as yet. I feel that his work is fully up to 
expectations, and I think that the meetings of Mr. Jones will result 
in marked blessings to the people of the city." 

The meetings continued five weeks. The attendance increased 
until the very last. The interest became more intense as the services 
progressed. The conversions began the first week and each week 
there were increasing numbers. Mr. Jones said: "I have never 
yet struck a place where there was so much orthodoxy and devil- 
ment as there is in Chicago." Speaking further to the Commercial 
Gazette reporter, he said : "You ask me what I think of the pres- 
ent revival in this city. It couldn't be a better one. In all my 
life as an evangelist I have never seen such interest manifested in 
a revival. There is no trouble about it. Chicago has beaten the 
first two weeks record of St. Louis and Cincinnati, and that is some- 



214 Sam P. Jones. 

thing I had not anticipated." At the end of the second week, Mr. 
Jones said there had been about five hundred conversions. The 
third week the number was in the neighborhood of one thousand. 
The next week Mr. Jones said that a larger number remained at the 
after-meeting than any service except Sunday. This indicates an 
increased interest that was very gratifying to the committee. In 
Mr. Jones's own language, the revival was booming. The opposition 
had gradually died away as people began to be saved, and when 
the last days of the meeting came, it was with great sorrow that 
the people said good-by to Mr. Jones. In the Record of Christian 
Work, published .by Fleming H. Revell, April, 1886, we clip a 
paragraph from, a lengthy editorial: "Mr. Jones's coming to Chi- 
cago and preaching to the Northwest is a benediction to all the 
churches. The moral atmosphere will be clearer henceforth, and 
the Christian living will mean more, and the church will require 
more of its membership. Mr. Moody, with his usual sagacity, saw 
the needs of Chicago, as perhaps no other man did, and induced 
Mr. Jones to turn his steps hither, and begin this work, and his 
promise has been more than fulfilled. Probably, there never has 
been such a revival in this city before. It is undoubtedly true that 
hundreds, if not thousands, have been converted, and hundreds of 
Christians have been led to a new consecration to God's service/' 

In closing the chapter on the work in Chicago, we can not do 
better than to take from the Tribune of April 5th, its account of 
the last service : 

"The great five- weeks' revival meeting with the Southern evan- 
gelist, Sam Jones, as the central and animating figure, is over. The 
finish was reached in a veritable blaze of glory and without a soli- 
tary essential lacking to crown it a magnificent success. That it 
will pass into local history bearing the stamp' of success, is absolutely 
assured; and that it will work a permanent good in the morals of the 
city is admitted by those best capable of judging. 

"The audience last night was large enough, attentive enough, 
and sufficiently responsive to* please the most exacting speaker who 
ever spoke religion. There must have been fully nine thousand 
people packed away in the building. People stood along the aisles 



Sam P. Jonks. 215 

on the main floor, stood six and seven deep on the promenade and 
in the gallery, stood on the stairways, and, in fact, stood every- 
where where it was possible to stand. There was scarcely breath- 
ing, much less standing-room. Several hundred people remained 
in the building from the afternoon service, and by six o'clock nearly 
every seat was occupied. By half-past six people were standing, 
and fifteen minutes later the entrance doors were closed, and no 
more people were admitted. At seven o'clock there must have been 
five thousand people massed along State and Twenty-fourth streets, 
half of them under the impression that the doors had not yet been 
opened, and the other half believing that, through some providen- 
tial circumstances they would be able to gain admittance. All the 
cars going north and south from the Rink were as thoroughly 
packed as if the meeting had just been dismissed, and entirely by 
people who had despaired of getting into the Casino. A careful 
estimate places the number of people turned away at about ten thou- 
sand, really a greater throng than was able to hear the last sermon 
of this series of revival meetings. 

"The sermon was of a different character than those usually 
delivered by Sam Jones in the presence of large crowds, and there 
was little in it to excite the levity of those present. It was decid- 
edly theological and abounded in the pathetic. 

"The meetings in the Casino during the past five weeks have 
been attended by nearly two hundred and sixty thousand persons, 
all of whom have been handled without trouble, disturbance or 
accident of any kind. 

"The Rev. Dr. Henry Scudder presided. Bishop Merrill occu- 
pied a chair by his side. The choir began its work at six o'clock, 
and there was an alternation of singing and praying until seven- 
fifteen. Mr. Jones then preached upon, 'Her Ways are Ways of 
Pleasantness.' He described it as a way of light, of good things, 
of happiness, a way that seemed short, because the way was made 
in good company. After the sermon, he took Dr. Scudder' s hand 
and led him, to the front of the rostrum, saying : 

" 'I want to take the hand of Dr. Scudder, one of your noble 
preachers, and I want his hand to represent yours. I want every 



216 Sam P. Jones. 

one of you to consider your hand in mine. I want to thank you 
all from the depths of my soul for your kindness and consideration 
for me.' 

"Dr. Scudder placed his arm* around Mr. Jones's neck and asked 
the blessings of God to accompany him on his way and to prosper 
him in his work. The great audience applauded vigorously. Half 
an hour was spent with about a hundred penitents in the inquiry 
room. Thus closed the great meeting in Chicago," 



CHAPTER XX. 



Ths Baltimore Awakening. 

After leaving Chicago, the next meeting that was held in a large 
city was in Baltimore. Mr. Jones visited some smaller cities in 
the South between the close of the Chicago work and the opening 
of the revival in the Monumental City. Some of these meetings 
were held in Mississippi, and the results were gratifying. Perhaps 
the last one just before going to Baltimore was the greatest of 
them all, and was conducted in Columbus, Miss. As a result of a 
ten-days' meeting, the entire city and surrounding community was 
mightily stirred. 

In Baltimore, some of the prominent citizens and the Ministerial 
Alliance had talked of his coming for a year and a half. The first 
of the year a petition signed by the pastors of six denominations, 
and a committee of very prominent laymen, headed by Dr. James 
Carey, Thomas and Mr. O. L,. Rhodes, was sent to Mr. Jones. He 
accepted the invitation, and when the public announcement was 
made, it contained the names of twenty-seven prominent ministers, 
and a number of leading laymen, including Dr. Frank Gunsaulus, 
Dr. A. C. Dixon, Hon. Joshua Levering, and many other influen- 
tial men. The churches and ministry were a unit in inviting him. 

The financial committee urged Mr. Jones very strongly to set 
a price for his services, but he gave them; to distinctly understand 
that if his visit depended upon making a contract he would not 
under any circumstances consider the invitation. He had never 
made a contract for remuneration for his services, and was very 
explicit in his correspondence regarding this matter. We find a 
letter bearing on this subject addressed to the chairman of the 
executive committee. He said : 

'*Now, as you press the matter upon me as to compensation, I 

(217) 



218 Sam P. Jonds. 

can simply say that whatever is done must be voluntary and, there- 
fore, there can be no pecuniary consideration. 

"My terms have invariably been about these: If the brethren 
will roll up their sleeves and pitch in and help to win souls to Christ, 
I will not charge much, but if they do not, I shall dig them pretty 
hard. 

"I would rather see ten thousand souls brought to Christ and 
have to borrow money to pay my way home from your city, than 
to see the cause of Christ not prosper and have you pay me ten 
thousand dollars. 

"I claim the promises in the thirty-seventh Psalm : 'Trust in the 
Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land and verily 
thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself in the Lord, and He will give 
thee the desires of thine heart.' 

"Whatever is paid me, I only want to know that it is a voluntary 
free-will offering on the part of those contributing it. My faith 
is strong, and I believe God will give us a great work in Baltimore. 
I know you brethren are praying and will do what you can to make 
the work a success, and God is always ready, and really, God is 
calling, seeking, hunting to find the lost." 

The only requirement he made was, that they would select an 
appropriate place for the meetings to be held, and arrange a build- 
ing that would seat four or five thousand people. He expressed 
a desire, if it was convenient, for them to secure a, suite of rooms 
at some good hotel near the Tabernacle. This was his preference, 
everything else being equal. As his success depended to a large 
extent upon the cooperation and sympathy of the pastor, and the 
people, he told them that he desired the hearty cooperation of the 
church people of Baltimore. He said he did not care so much for 
their endorsement of his style and manner, but earnestly desired 
hearty cooperation. He told them that he had never known any- 
thing but success, but found it much easier to have a great revival 
where the people were willing to work with him. 

The committee decided to accept the conditions as outlined by 
him, and accepting the call, he gave them May 2, 1886, as the date 
for his work in Baltimore. It was very apparent to all observing: 



Sam P. Jonks. 219 

and earnest Christians that just such a preacher as Mr. Jones was 
greatly needed in that city. Perhaps the ministers and citizens 
who had secured his services saw this need as it really existed. A 
rather remarkable thing was that the editors of the great daily 
papers, including the American-Herald and Sun, were a unit on this 
question. As soon as his coming was announced, there appeared 
lengthy editorials as to the moral condition and the church-life of 
Baltimore. These papers said in substance that "Mr. Jones's com- 
ing to the city is good tidings. There is much need of a religious 
awakening in this city, and if Mr. Jones could succeed in quickening 
the consciences and stirring the depths of stagnation, his mission 
would bring great blessing to the people." They ventured, to give 
Mr. Jones a few hints as to the spiritual needs of the community. 
The souls that stood most in need of his words and burning zeal 
were not the outsiders exclusively, but the people that needed to be 
touched to the quick were within the churches; sometimes even 
vestrymen, ' elders, deacons, and stewards, as well as other pew- 
holders and communicants. Their needs were all the greater, 
because they were not aware of them. They made religion a rou- 
tine, a respectability, while their hearts were in worldliness, pride 
and pleasure. Like the scribes and Pharisees of old, they were not 
what would ordinarily be called the bad men, but were good citizens, 
respecters of the law, punctilious in religious observance, such as 
prayer in public, tithing and making much of ritual. They liked 
to appear before the eyes of the world as the pillars of the church, 
but before the eye of God they were full of pride, and for a pre- 
tense made long prayers while devouring widows' houses. Such 
men were sitting in the prominent pews. They prayed that Mr. 
Jones might smite through the armor of selfishness and complacency 
and show them their real condition, and thus through the gates of 
penitence lead them, back into spiritual life and show them that God 
would receive them, if they would come humbly and submissively 
as little children to> the throne of grace. 

The editors of great daily papers were in a position to see the 
spiritual condition of a community, but it is seldom that you find 
men who were as firm in their convictions and had the courage to 



220 Sam P. Jones. 

write them, as the editors of these Baltimore papers, Mr. Jones, 
upon his arrival in the city, was quick to discover the needs as 
had been seen by the citizens, ministers and newspapers. 

No amount of labor and expenditure of money was lacking in 
preparing a suitable place in which to hold the meetings. The com- 
mittee selected the Biddle Street Rink and put it in a suitable condi- 
tion for evangelistic services. The preparations were completed on 
Saturday before the meetings began. They had prepared for the 
accommodation of five thousand people. A wide row of benches 
stretched from the platform down to< the main doors, with rows 
of benches on either side within full view of the pulpit ; the galleries 
on the east and west side of the building were also- arranged with 
seats. In order to protect the eyes of the speaker and the people, 
the electric lights were strung in a row along the wall, which gave 
a pleasant effect to the eye. In front of the building a large electric 
light hung on Biddle street, making it easy for the great crowds 
to gather and disperse. A very large and well-arranged platform 
had been built for the choir. 

Mr. O. L. Rhodes had been selected by the committee in charge 
of the meetings to meet Mr. Jones in Washington and accompany 
him to Baltimore. Upon the arrival of the nine-o'clock train at the 
Baltimore & Potomac depot, Mr. Rhodes met Mr. Jones. They 
strolled in the vicinty for about three-quarters of an hour, after 
which they boarded the ten-o'clock train for Baltimore. Upon their 
arrival at the Union Station about midnight, they were met by Dr. 
P. C. Williams, chairman of the executive committee, who had 
a carriage ready to take them to the St. James Hotel. 

After Mr. Jones had registered and been shown to his room, 
a rap on the door, and "Come in" by Mr. Jones, introduced a 
reporter from one of the morning papers. After he had made him- 
self known, Mr. Jones said : "Well, my boy, if you have got any 
questions to ask, fire them, quick, as I want to climb into bed." The 
reporter inquired : "Have you yet mapped out a definite plan for 
your campaign?" Mr. Jones answered: "As definite as is possible; 
my only plan is, 'Do something.' I am going to make things lively 
for the saints and sinners hereabouts." After telling Mr. Jones 



Sam P. Jones. 221 

of the spacious hall that had been prepared for him, the reporter 
asked: "Do you think you will be able to fill it with people?" Mr. 
Jones replied: "I'll fill the-building if its as big as all outdoors." 
Then he bade him good-night, and Mr. Jones soon retired, and 
Sunday morning was up early and in fine condition for his meeting. 
The opening service was held in the afternoon, and two hours before 
the time for preaching the people began to flock to the auditorium 
until it was full, and several thousand turned away. It was esti- 
mated that no less than eight thousand endeavored to attend the 
first service. Mr. Maxwell had taken charge of the large choir that 
had been organized and trained by a local leader. A number of 
very spirited revival songs had been rendered, when Mr. Jones 
reached the auditorium. As great crowds thronged the doors of 
the Rink, it was necessary for Mr. Jones to enter the building 
through the inquiry room. Just as soon as he made his appear- 
ance the great audience recognized him, and there was a whisper, 
"There he is," which was taken up by one after another until the 
great audience had its attention drawn to him. He threaded his 
way through the large body of men on the stage, and walked out 
upon a small platform erected especially for him, and seated himself 
in a large old-fashioned armchair. The large choir sang a special 
song that had been written for the occasion. The title of it was 
"Welcome Song." The words had been composed by Professor 
John D. Robinson, and the music by Professor Harry Sanders, 
both of that city. The following words were sung in a very enthu- 
siastic and whole-souled manner: 

"Oh, man of God, we welcome you in Christ the Saviour's name, 
And pray that all your labors here may glorious fruitings bring; 

With loving heart and tuneful voice we raise this lofty strain, 
And greet you as the messenger of Christ the Lord and King. 

REFRAIN. 

"We welcome you with hearts aglow, we welcome you with song, 
And gather here our love to show, with faith and hope both strong. 



222 Sam P. Jones. 

"Thy labors so abundant have with victory been crowned 
On every sinful battle-field where thou wert called to lead. 

And multitudes rejoice to-day who Christ the Saviour found, 
And bless the chosen husbandman who sowed the precious seed. 

"God bless thee more abundantly and grant thee power divine, 
That thou may'st help our people to a higher Christian life, 

And make the gospel trumpet sound in strains of joy sublime, 
And lead us forth to victory o'er sin and woe and strife. 

"And may an influence great and strong flow from thy presence here. 
To bless the coming ages with a purifying stream ; 

And Christ the Lord be magnified each Christian heart to cheer, 
As light from Gospel truth shall shine with heaven's radiant 
gleam." 

When Mr. Tones was introduced and arose to address the people, 
his prophecy to fill the building was more than fulfilled. The Rink 
was packed and jammed from the platform to the door, and the 
aisles thick with people, while several thousands were clamoring bn 
the outside for admittance. In the rear of him sat the members of 
the executive committee and the ministers of the city, with a large 
choir, and a corps of earnest personal workers. It was a crowd 
that had come from all parts of the city representing every denomi- 
nation, and all classes of non-church-going people. Such religious 
enthusiasm had inflamed with fervor even those who had been actu- 
ated by mere curiosity. It was unlike any other ever witnessed in 
Baltimore. There were the gray-haired men, most of them evidently 
from various churches, and there were hundreds of young men who 
attended no church, and many of the society people could be located 
in different parts of the building. The workingmen, their wives 
and children sat along the side with the lawyers, physicians, mer- 
chants, capitalists and other richly-dressed men and women. Chris- 
tians and infidels were both eager to catch his first utterance. 

The perfect arrangement of the building gave every one an ex- 
cellent opportunity to see the speaker. Dr. A. C. Dixon had intro- 



Sam P. Jonss. 223 

duced him in a brief speech, and earnestly besought the prayers of 
the Christian people in behalf of a great revival. 

Mr. Jones, standing before the people, did not look like a clergy- 
men, as he was dressed in a business suit. He held in his hand a 
small Bible, and finding his text, he began his work in earnest. It 
■took him but a moment to throw the power of his personality into 
his message, and with his indefinable magnetism soon had the audi- 
ence under his control. He preached one of his most polished and 
magnificent sermons, which resulted in a deep impression at the 
first service. The people went away greatly moved by the spiritual 
power manifested. 

In the evening more people sought to hear him than at the after- 
noon service. He changed his style somewhat, and preached one of 
his humorous, pathetic and stirring addresses. The first day of the 
great campaign had made a favorable impression upon all classes of 
people. He recognized that the day services would be conducted in 
the churches, and a noonday service would be held for the business 
men at the Y. M. C. A. Hall. Preaching ior the first week was 
directed to the church-members; however, the unsaved turned to 
Christ in great numbers, and at the close of the first week's service 
many had been happily converted. A great deal of interest and 
curiosity had been manifested throughout the city in Mr. Jones, in 
the way he spent his time between the services. A reporter of the 
Herald called upon him at his room to interview him on the subject. 
He found Mr. Jones and his assistant, chorister and secretary spend- 
ing their rest hours in a very simple way. The interview followed : 
"Mr. Jones," said the reporter, "does nothing especially to distin- 
guish himself from the other guests of the hotel. He arises usually 
at seven o'clock and has his co-workers to join him in a word of 
prayer, seeking the guidance of God for the day, and then repairs 
to breakfast, where his favorite dish is oatmeal and cream. He is 
especially fond of fruit, and likes a lemonade or a cup of coffee. 
After a very light breakfast he returns to his room and looks 
through his letters, which accumulate at the rate of fifty a day. He 
is never so busy but what he writes to his wife daily, and she knows 
where he is and what he is doing each day. He spends some time 



224 Sam P. Jonss. 

in reading, which led the reporter to ask, 'What are your favorite 
authors ?' The evangelist replied, 'My library is a very choice and 
carefully selected one. I use books like the mechanic uses the grind- 
stone to sharpen his tools on. Whenever I go away from home I 
pack a few of my favorite books in my valise and read as I have 
occasion, while I am gone/ 'Do you like poetry?' inquired the in- 
terviewer. 'There is but one poet for me, that is Burns/ then Mr. 
Jones proceeded to quote Burns with spirit and feeling." 



CHAPTER XXI. 



The Baltimore Awakening (Continued). 

The meeting had been running smoothly from the beginning, 
with every kind of encouragement. As the time became more pro- 
pitious, Mr. Jones began to denounce the wrongs and sins of the 
city more strongly. The society element, which was so prominent 
in Baltimore, received special attention at his hands. This called 
forth much criticism and resentment. He continued to discuss their 
foibles and superficiality, ridiculing and pointing out the emptiness 
of such a life. Card-playing, theater-going and dancing were the 
subjects for many remarks, and the ground for many earnest pleas. 
Considerable inroads were made on the society people, and they be- 
came interested in their salvation, and many were brought to God 
during the meeting. 

His fearful arraignment of the liquor traffic and the other vices 
and sins caused the people to be divided in their opinions. Con- 
siderable opposition was manifested on the part of the society mem- 
bers and managers of gambling-dens. Some of the worldly church- 
members, including some preachers, could not endorse all that he 
said against the saloon. The majority, however, including the most 
earnest reporters, were enthusiastic in their praise, declaring that he 
was right, while some of the worldly and irreligious church-mem- 
bers, with those who took no interest in religion, discussed him in 
harsh and bitter terms. Dr. Kircus, one of the prominent Episcopal 
rectors, joined in with the foes of the work and wrote very bitterly 
against him through the daily press. Mr. Jones was not ritualistic 
enough to please the high churchmen, who indulged in the very 
things that Mr. Jones had denounced. A paper said: "Mr. Jones 
denounces the liquor traffic, which Dr. Kircus defends. He de- 
nounces the theaters, which Dr. Kircus admires and attends. He 

(225) 



226 Sam P. Jones. 

denounces the germans, in which Dr. Kircus finds repose and ec- 
stasy, after the fastings and humiliations of Lent. He preaches 
Christ, while Dr. Kircus is content with St. Michael and all angels. 
Hence, the shoe pinches so hard that the critic walks lame." 

After reading this description of Dr. Kircus, Mr. Jones in his 
preliminary remarks at the evening service, said : "Who is this 
preacher that is denouncing me in this city?" A friend replied: 
"Why, he is the man that the liquor people got to deliver a lecture, 
and paid him for it." [Smiles.] "Well," continued Mr. Jones, "I 
am glad I know why he opposes me; it's always the hit dog that 
howls. [Laughter.] He also says that I am not an accredited 
minister of the gospel. Well, I just want to say that I am an or- 
dained minister, and a member of the North Georgia Conference, 
and my ordination is as good as anybody's. I came to Baltimore 
because the leading ministers and laymen invited me. When you 
hear people discussing the revival, and some fellow asks, 'Have you 
been around to hear Sam Jones?' and he replies, 'No, I don't en- 
dorse him,' now, look here," said Mr. Jones, "I don't want you to 
endorse me. [Laughter.] Your endorsement if it was written out 
wouldn't be any good. [Laughter.] I won't endorse myself, but 
I do want God to endorse me, and I want you all to cooperate with 
me. No man wants to go to heaven more than I do, and if I don't 
go to heaven, friends, I tell you now I will turn and walk away 
from the gates of pearl the most disappointed man in the universe." 
These preliminary remarks had given the death-blow to the criti- 
cism and opposition, and the great audience was brought into closer 
sympathy and more hearty cooperation with Mr. Jones. In a great 
many of the pulpits on the following Sabbath morning the promi- 
nent evangelistical ministers of the city preached on the great re- 
vival in progress. Many of them told their people that Mr. Jones 
was exactly right in all he said, and deplored the fact that they had 
not been more fearless in their preaching. One of them said: "If 
the two or three hundred preachers in Baltimore were more like 
Sam Jones we would have pure churches and less of the evil social 
features of the city. I am ashamed that I haven't been more like 
Sam Jones in my attitude towards the worldliness and wickedness 
of Baltimore." 



Sam P. Jones. 227 

In view of the extraordinary interest which the community had 
manifested in the meeting, and deeming it a matter of uncommon 
public interest, one of the daily papers gathered and published 
opinions and views of many of the leading citizens as to the char- 
acter of work being accomplished by Mr. Jones. In the large num- 
ber of expressed opinions there was found the names of many emi- 
nent ecclesiastical judges and lawyers, professors, physicians, mer- 
chants, business men, and private citizens. 

Dr. Andrew Longacre, Mount Vernon M. E. church : "Of course 
I am in full sympathy with Mr. Jones." 

Rev. W. M. H, McAllister, St. John's Independent Methodist 
church : "I am with Sam Jones." 

• Rev. Milard J. Lowe, Epworth Independent Methodist church : 
"I know Mr. Jones, and he will do great work here. He will get 
hold of the masses and do the churches good." 

Rev. A. C. Dixon, Emanuel Baptist church : "I am in thorough 
sympathy with the work engaged in by the evangelist. He is an ef- 
fective talker, and will do much good. You can not draw a parallel 
between Moody and Jones. They are utterly unlike. Moody knew 
a thing, but not from personal experience, and Jones does." 

Rev. W. F. Gunsaules, Brown Memorial Presbyterian church : 
"I am in sympathy with whatever works good. I think there is go- 
ing to be a great work done here. Mr. Jones will be master of the 
situation." 

Mr. H. T. Maloney, clerk of the United States Court : "Mr. Jones 
is an extraordinary man. His novel style has set church-members 
to thinking, and induced the masses to discuss the subject of relig- 
ion. His sermons will be productive of good in Baltimore." 

Judge H. Clay Dalian : "I went to hear Sam Jones thinking that 
I would not like him, but I was favorably impressed." 

Ex-Mayor Ferdinand C. Latrobe: "I am afraid to hear Sam 
Jones ; I would like to see him and Bob Ingersoll matched." 

Hon. Thomas G. Hayes, United States District Attorney : "He 
is one of the smartest men I ever heard. I like him ; as he says, 'the 
fellow that takes him for a fool will get left/ I consider him a well 
educated man." 



228 Sam P, Jonss. 

Following the estimates of the prominent men, there appeared a 
very striking one from *an editor : "Sam Jones is a man of strong 
character, and therefore sure to find warm advocates or bitter op- 
ponents, and as he never fails to 'speak out in meeting,' no man 
has any difficulty in making up his mind as to whether he is pleased 
or annoyed by hits, in which the evangelist delights to indulge. 
One thing can not be gainsaid. The impression produced has been 
very powerful, and the prediction that the mission-meeting would 
be a nine-day wonder is falsified by the fact that at the end of the 
second week the rush to the evening meetings is more eager than 
ever. The revival has been the greatest religious event which this 
city has ever known. At first, no doubt the throngs were attracted 
to the meetings by the fame of the evangelist. His style and sayings 
have proved factors in drawing crowds, but even when Mr. Jones 
would announce that he would disrobe his sermons of wit, humor 
and jokes, and would preach the next time in a serious vein, his 
audiences did not fall off; all the available space was occupied at 
every service. 

"The character of the audiences has been as remarkable as the 
sermons preached before them. One has only to place himself at 
the door of the Rink and scan the dress and faces of those who 
enter its doors to satisfy himself that the congregation was made 
up of the better classes of the community. Sober, respectable, 
thoughtful people, both old and young, have been constant in their 
attendance. Whether in the church or out of it, it has been Balti- 
more's representative people who have attended the services. In 
view of the conservative and unexcitable nature of our people, it was 
thought that the peculiar methods of Mr. Jones would not be crown- 
ed with the same success as in Cincinnati, Chicago, and other places. 
The results thus far go to show that these calculations were mis- 
placed, for the meetings have been as continuously enthusiastic and 
as numerously attended as those at any other point. The fact that 
nearly five hundred people have professed conversion, and that one 
thousand have asked for prayer, furnishes irrefutable testimony of 
the power and influences exerted by the meeting." 

In Mr. Jones's sympathy for the unfortunate and outcast, he 



Sam P. Jones. 229 

preached in the penitentiary before a most attentive audience of con- 
victs. He showed how tenderly he felt toward the criminal in the 
selection of his text, which was taken from Matthew 1 1 128 : 
"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give 
you rest." He told them that the Saviour understood all of their 
troubles, and prescribed for them as the great physician of the soul ; 
that the Lord Jesus was the one friend that would never go back on 
them. He said perhaps the worst man in Maryland was not in the 
penitentiary. "There are a good many in Baltimore who ought to be 
here with you. I never see a man in striped clothes without think- 
ing but for the grace of God, old fellow, you'd be in striped clothes 
yourself, or mighty near it. However, if you will come to God, 
there will be no striped clothes up yonder — but you all may have 
robes of shining white." He spoke to them of how the devil had 
enslaved them. Turning to the colored men he said : "Millions of 
you fellows kicked up your heels when Abraham Lincoln set you 
free — well, you ain't free now, are you? [Laughter.] I'll tell you 
who can set you free, and keep you free, and that is the Lord Jesus 
Christ. They could put John Bunyan in jail, but he was free there. 
When he wrote his 'Pilgrim's Progress' he was the freest man in the 
world. Christ promises also to give you rest. Some of you have at 
home as good a wife as any man ever had, and her heart has been 
aching ever since you have been here. Some of you have beautiful 
daughters ; some of you sisters and brothers ; every boy has a 
mother living or dead. Precious old mother and good wife have 
been praying God to sanctify this imprisonment to your salvation. 
I hope you will come to Christ and let Him give you rest. So live 
the Christian life from this day forth that the Governor will pardon 
many of you before your terms expire, and send you out Christians ; 
but if he don't, be a Christian anyhow. Fd rather be a Christian 
in the penitentiary than a sinner outside." 

A great deal was said and written about the eccentricities of Mr. 
Jones. He made reply as follows : 

"You needn't bother about my eccentricities ; I only put them on 
to get you here. A Baltimore minister said to me : 'Jones, I can't 
get a congregation.' 'Why,' I said, 'just get a lot of earthenware 



230 Sam P. Jones. 

poodle dogs, stick them in the pews of your church and I'll warrant 
the place will be jammed ; get 'em to come, and then win souls to 
•Christ.' An old London preacher gave out that he would kick in one 
of the panels of his pulpit. Crowds assembled at an early hour and 
filled the church to overflowing. The minister kicked in the panel 
for them, but he converted a big lot of them. Some person said: 
'Have you been out to hear Sam Jones ?' 'No, I don't like the way 
that man goes on,' was the reply. Do tell me how it is that Chris- 
tians can look on at a battle between the good and sin and not be 
moved ; just because they don't like the crack of my rifle they refuse 
to take any part in the fight. If a Newfoundland dog came to my 
town fully accredited that he had won souls to Christ I'd take him 
and keep him. I am ready to change myself if any fellow gives me a 
method to catch more fish. As long as God gives me a string of fish 
I don't care what they say about my pole and hook." 

He created much laughter while defending his eccentricities. 

The work in Baltimore was rapidly coming to a close, and there 
appeared an editorial in the Herald as to the results of the meeting. 
The paper said : "His ministry in Baltimore will have lasted exactly 
four weeks, and our people have had ample time to form a correct 
opinion as to the substantial good that will result from his work. 

"It must be conceded that before the arrival of Mr. Jones there 
was much distrust as to the effectiveness of his method, and the per- 
manency of his work; however, at the first service there were over 
three thousand turned away, and the throngs increased from day to 
day, and the work more permanent than at the beginning. Thou- 
sands have professed conversion. Many came to see Mr. Jones from 
tnere motives of curiosity, and for the first time in their lives were 
stirred with religious emotions. Scores of the worst sinners in the 
community were made to see the error of their ways, and to declare 
that henceforth they would lead Christian lives. Will these conver- 
sions last? This is indeed a serious question, and one that time alone 
can answer. Doubtless a large percentage of them will endure, but 
there is another view. We have the testimony of the Protestant 
ministers at large that there has been a general religious awakening. 
The enthusiasm of Mr. Jones has inspired other ministers to fresh " 



Sam P. Jone;s. 231. 

efforts among their own particular congregations, and the increased 
church attendance has already become apparent. If, in addition to 
calling thousands to repentance, he has aroused the Christian spirit 
of the community, he has doubly won the thanks of the people." 

As to the results of the work, Mr. Jones preached about one hun- 
dred times during the meetings. All of these sermons were pub- 
lished in the Sun and other papers. The number of persons who at- 
tended the meetings were estimated from' two hundred and thirty 
thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand. It is thought that not 
less than twenty-five hundred openly professed conversion, while 
thousands of others had their hearts and minds touched, and were 
made better men and women. Mr. Jones said in closing the serv- 
ice: "It has been a great pleasure to me to work with you. My 
visit has been made especially delightful, because I have worked 
under the direction of the best committee I ever saw. Whenever 
you get up a big religious revival in this city put Dr. P. C. Williams 
at the head of it. I never met a purer, nobler, grander Christian 
man than he. May God bless him and also the noble preachers of 
Baltimore, fifty or sixty of whom have been with me. The churches 
were never more united than they have been during these meetings. 
I want to thank the ushers, too. To do their duty while being mis- 
understood leaves no room to doubt their piety. I want them to or- 
ganize as the ushers did after the Moody meetings, so as to aid in 
preventing any of the converts from going back to their old ways. 
May God bless the newspapers of Baltimore, from the editors to the* 
reporters, for they have done their part of the work well, and to 
make it comprehensive, may God bless you all. I hope to meet you 
all up yonder where congregations ne'er break up." 

Mr. Jones visited Baltimore a second time, and held a great meet- 
ing in the Music Hall. While on this visit he not only succeeded in 
getting people saved, but made a strong plea for temperance, and 
aided in raising money for worthy causes, such as the Florence- 
Crittenton Home. He preached for a number of years at Emorv 
Grove camp-meeting,, near Baltimore, and the Baltimore people 
heard him in great numbers. During his last visit he was called 
home by the death of my mother. There were fully ten thousand 



232 Sam P. Jon£S. 

people at the camp-meeting to hear him that day. Excursions had 
been run in from several directions, and the grounds were covered 
with earnest admirers. All available space for teams and carriages 
and horses was taken up, and the campground presented a scene 
unlike any other in its history. 

Just after preaching in the afternoon he received a telegram an- 
nouncing the death of my mother, Mrs. C. A. McElwain, at her 
home near Eminence, Ky. It was a severe shock to him, as the 
deepest love had existed between my mother and Mr. Jones. While 
waiting for a telegram from me, he preached again in the evening to 
an immense throng, from Psalm 55:18: "Cast thy burden upon 
the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." With his heart aching, he 
stood there and directed the minds of the people to the great burden- 
bearer, and with them laid his burden upon the Lord. 

My health was very critical also at that time, which brought addi- 
tional suffering to his bleeding heart. He said in closing : "It may 
be that I will never lift my voice here again ; I wish from the depths 
of my soul to thank you for your sympathies for me and my sick 
wife, and those of us who are in great sorrow. I do not believe God 
will allow his faithful ones to be overcome by their burdens. On the 
sea of life, the old ship of Zion will ply its way to every frail little 
bark, and when the waves of trouble overlap us, our blessed Christ 
stands on the bulwarks and says: 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord,' 
and the weight that overloads us will not sink our vessel the one- 
hundredth part of an inch. Blessed be God for a great burden - 
bearer." 



CHAPTER XXII. 



Indianapolis, St. Paul and Minneapolis. 

At the close of the meetings in Baltimore, Mr. Jones was called 
home to Cartersville, where three of his children were ill. Upon his 
arrival there, however, he found that they were not dangerously 
sick, and was detained only a few days. Assured by his physician 
that his loved ones were improving, he left as soon as possible for 
his next engagement, which was at Indianapolis, Indiana. 

The evangelist arrived in Indianapolis, on the evening of June 12, 
1886, and was met by his co-workers, who had preceded him to the 
city, and had gotten the meeting under way during his stay at Car- 
tersville. 

His coming had been given due prominence in the Indianapolis 
papers, and, with one or two exceptions, they were kindly disposed 
toward him and his work. A great deal of space was given to the 
reports of his sermons and meetings, and he was treated with fair- 
ness, editorially. To say the least of it, he was not antagonized to 
any large extent by the secular press of the city. 

The ministers of the Protestant churches had united almost com- 
pletely in the invitation to visit Indianapolis, and he was greatly 
pleased with the earnest cooperation that was given him from this 
source. 

As in every place he had visited for years since he had become a 
national character, Mr. Jones had his critics before and after his 
arrival. 

He was beset on every side by the card-writers, who felt it their 
duty to enlighten the people in regard to the evangelist. Most of his 
critics wrote as though they had discovered Sam Jones and warned 
the people against him as though his worth and works had never 
been demonstrated at other places. It was a curious fact that these 

(233) 



234 Sam P. Jones. 

writers seemed always to feel impelled to protect their respective 
cities against the evils that they thought would come through a visit 
from Sam Jones. 

It was not the custom of Mr. Jones to refer to this kind of nui- 
sance, except when something was said that misrepresented him, or 
something that would injure the cause. He cared little for personal 
opinions of men, and rarely noticed anything that was said against 
riim. But when he was made by the card-writers to say something 
that he had never said, and saw that his work would be injured 
unless he corrected the same, he would usually devote a few moments 
before or after a sermon to score those who had misrepresented him. 

One of the cards which greatly incensed Mr. Jones was a, clipping 
taken from a New York paper, and enlarged upon in the Indianapo- 
lis Journal. The Journal had been printing everything it could 
gather that was calculated to injure and annoy Mr. Jones, but had 
succeeded in attracting little notice from him. This card, however, 
was such a palpable falsehood that it brought Mr. Jones to his feet 
with the following : 

"I saw the biggest, meanest lie in the Indianapolis Journal this 
morning that was ever published on a man or devil. It was copied 
from, the New York Star, and it said that Sam Jones asked one thou- 
sand dollars a week for his services, and three thousand dollars from 
the people of Omaha before he would consent to go there. I never 
made a contract about going anywhere in my life, and never said 
anything about money. That paper that said I did laid itself liable 
to a libel suit, for it damaged my character as a minister. It is a 
scandalous lie on a man who never made a charge for his work in 
his life. I wouldn't go to hear a preacher who would charge one 
thousand dollars per week for his work, or who demanded a guar- 
antee." Mr. Jones was roundly applauded after this statement. 

Mr. Jones spoke first in Roberts Park church, but the crowd at 
that service was of su?^ proportion that it was found necessary to 
remove to Tomlinson Hail, a large, new building, with a seating 
-capacity of more than four thousand people. His first sermon was a 
complete victory for him, and it served to disarm his critics and 
•those who had opposed him. Mr. Jones had only one week that 



Sam P. Jones. 235 

could be given to Indianapolis, his engagements at St. Paul and 
Minneapolis limiting the time. He went straight into his work, and 
preached with marvelous power the entire time he was in the city.. 
It is probable that he accomplished more good in Indianapolis in the 
week he spent there than he had ever done before in so short a time. 
There were large numbers of people converted under his preaching* 
and the morals of the city were given a decidedly better character. 
He made thousands of friends, and people who were bitterly opposed 
to his coming were his staunchest supporters when his work there- 
was finished. 

Even the newspapers that had antagonized him from the start, 
and had denounced him in the most scathing terms, saw the good 
that he had accomplished ; and their editorials were of an apologetic 
nature before he departed from the city. Some of the papers praised 
him highly, and thanked him for the work that he had accom- 
plished. 

The sincerity, the earnestness and the directness of the manner in 
which Mr. Jones had preached to the people of Indianapolis had 
brought forth wonderful results, which were not only testified to in 
the meetings, but were evident in all parts of the city. It was a 
whirlwind victory. Sam Jones came to the city, rushed through it in 
a cyclone of gospel truth and force, and before the people realized it 
had left the forces of the devil scattered and frightened, while the 
Christians who had feared his coming, and questioned his methods,. 
were left glad and thankful. 

At the close of the meeting, at Indianapolis, Mr. Jones proceeded 
at once to St. Paul, Minn., where he had completed arrangements^ 
for a two-weeks' revival meeting. 

As is too often the case, bad news travels far faster than good: 
news, and when Mr. Jones arrived he found that the newspapers had 
only received and printed the accounts of his meetings at Indianapo- 
lis that calculated to do him injury. The papers were up in arms, 
against his coming and had influenced the people against him. The 
prejudice of the people was unmistakable, but Mr. Jones had become 
accustomed to things of this kind, and knew how to meet the sit- 
uation. 



236 Sam P. Jonss. 

He spoke the first time the same day he arrived in St. Paul. 
Thousands of people came to hear him, but there was evidence of the 
fact that few, if any of them, were in sympathy with him. There 
was nothing that stimulated him to put forth his best efforts like op- 
position, whether implied or pronounced. And when he found the 
violent opposition of the press, and the silent opposition of the peo- 
ple, he preached with all the power of his being. It was only a few 
days until he had completely captured the city by his compelling 
personality. 

His labors in St. Paul were productive of so much good, and 
caused so much favorable comment, that he was urged to give a part 
of his time to the people in Minneapolis. It was urged upon him 
that there were people in the other of the Twin Cities who could not 
go to hear him in St. Paul, and who were anxious for him to preach 
"to them. 

The meetings continued for two weeks in St. Paul. He held oc- 
casional services in Minneapolis. At every service the people flocked 
in great crowds to hear him. He did not turn aside from his busi- 
ness of preaching the gospel of Christ, and a great victory was won 
by him in the Twin Cities. 

As in every place he had ever appeared since he entered the min- 
istry, Mr. Jones attacked the saloons and the whisky-drinking 
crowd with vigor. He did not spare this element in St. Paul and 
Minneapolis. In fact, he was more than usually severe upon the 
dealers as well as the drinkers of liquor. He said many things that 
aroused the wrath of the people who indulged in stimulating bev- 
erages, and called forth much warm criticism upon himself. 

Before the close of the meetings, Mr. Jones had so completely won 
over the Twin Cities that there was not a building in either place that 
would hold the crowds. He was made glad by the large number of 
testimonials as to the good he had done, and was cordially invited 
to return to Minneapolis and St. Paul. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



In Toronto and Canada. 

Mr. Jones's fame as a revivalist had spread beyond the boundaries 
of his own country, and his marvelous work had been discussed 
throughout the entire North American Continent. Some of the 
prominent ministers of all denominations in Toronto, having be- 
come familiar with his work in the States, decided to put forth an 
effort to get him to visit some of the prominent cities in the Domin- 
ion of Canada. Rev. Hugh Johnson, D.D., one of the most promi- 
nent ministers in Toronto, wrote on behalf of the Evangelical Min- 
isters' Alliance, asking Mr. Jones to hold a series of revival services 
in that city. 

While his engagements were made for months ahead, it 
was some time before he could give Dr. Johnson a definite answer, 
but the Toronto ministers were so solicitous that finally he arranged 
his dates, so as to begin his work October 7, 1886. Dr. John Potts 
was elected chairman of the executive committee. A grander and 
nobler man can scarcely be found in the Methodism of the Dominion. 

As the time approached for the beginning of the meeting, some of 
the members of the Alliance gradually withdrew, and one or two of 
the papers began firing into the movement. In a letter just a week 
before the meeting began Dr. Johnson wrote to Mr. Jones that 
everything would be in readiness, and requested that I accompany 
him, saying, "We will give her a royal Canadian welcome." Mr. 
Jones's visit was under very favorable auspices, as the executive 
committee had advertised judiciously, and his coming had been dis- 
cussed by the preachers in their pulpits. 

The two Sabbaths before the meeting began a great many minis- 
ters took for their subject "The Coming Revival." The committee 
had worked in perfect accord, and had the plan in a good condition 

(237) 



2S8 Sam P. Jones. 

when he arrived. The newspapers had given some notoriety to the 
meeting, but had not been as kindly disposed to Mr. Jones as the 
papers in other great cities. The city was very well covered with 
large pictures of the evangelist, with the date and place of the meet- 
ings announced. 

On Saturday evening Mr. Jones reached the city, and the com- 
mittee on entertainment met him at the station and conveyed him to- 
his room at the Rossin House. A reporter of the Toronto Globe 
obtained an interview with him, in which he asked : "What 
are your methods of conducting meetings?" Mr. Jones replied: "I 
depend largely upon the Gospel to do the work. There is very little- 
manipulation of the congregation, such as asking them to stand for 
prayer, or calling them to the altar — though I do that kind of work 
at the proper time. If you will bring home the plain truths of the 
Bible in a common-sense way, they will move a man every time. I 
preach at the conscience, and not the hearts of the people." "What 
do you do with infidels," inquired the reporter. "I do not deal with 
infidels ; at least in an argumentative way," replied the preacher. 
"Ridicule is the only weapon I use against them. I have seen a great 
many infidels converted, and they have all said that they were never 
really infidels at heart. I can understand Ingersoll lecturing on infi- 
delity at five hundred dollars a night, but I can't understand how a 
fellow would be fool enough to pay a dollar to* hear him and board 
himself. Ingersoll was lecturing on the 'Mistakes of Moses' once, and 
a fellow asked me if I didn't want to go around to hear him. -I re 
plied 'No, I won't give a dollar to hear Bob on the mistakes of 
Moses, but if I could get a chance to hear Moses on the mistakes of 
Bob I'd pay any reasonable sum.' " "Do you find any difference in 
the character of the people in your meetings in different 
parts of the United . States?" asked the interviewer. Mr. 
Jones replied: "I find the people further south are more 
easily moved. They haven't the intellectual difficulties that 
curse other portions of the country. In the West I find 
more coldness and indifference, but once people are moved it is with 
a vengeance. In the East there is an enthusiasm borne by an in- 
tellectual agreement with the speaker." The reporter inquired : "Do^ 
you preach against dancing and theater-going and card-playing ?' r 



Sam P. Jones. 239 

"Yes, I am fully persuaded that these things are hurting the church 
and sapping her life. It is the tide of worldliness sweeping over the 
homes of our country that is undermining the life of the church. 
The folks will hear from me on that subject." "Were you ever in 
Canada before?" he inquired. "Yes, I was here five years ago at- 
tending the International Sunday School Conference, and I carried 
away with me very pleasant memories of Toronto. Nowhere in 
America have I seen so quiet and orderly a Sabbath as I spent here. 
I believe Toronto is the cleanest city, morally and physically, I ever 
saw." 

The meetings were conducted in the Mutual Street Rink. The 
morning services were held for several days at the different churches, 
"but the ever-increasing audiences made it necessary to hold the day 
services in the Rink. 

At the first service there were four thousand people in attendance. 
All of the Methodist preachers of the city and many of the ministers 
of other denominations were on the platform. Dr. John Potts pre- 
sided. Some of the prominent men were Dr. Sutherland, mission- 
ary secretary; Dr. Dewart, editor of the Christian Guardian; Dr. 
Nelles, chancellor of the Victoria University, and Dr. Briggs, of 
the Toronto Methodist Book Concern. Just behind the ministers 
there were three or four hundred singers gathered from the different 
choirs of the city. Mr. Maxwell had drilled his large choir and had 
them in fine condition. Mr. E. O. Excell, who was traveling at that 
time as special soloist, was present and rendered a very effective 
solo, "I Have Found a Friend." 

Mr. Jones came upon the platform a few minutes before time to 
preach, and as he entered the building there was no mistaking him, 
as his pictures had appeared in the windows of the stores, and had 
been published in the great dailies. He walked down the aisle amid 
a half-suppressed murmur of the crowd. Upon reaching the plat- 
form he was seated with the other ministers, the dissimilarity 
rather noticeable, as he was the only one without a clerical garb. 

Dr. Potts presented him in a few pleasant words, and asked the 
prayers of all present for the success of the revival. Mr. Jones 
preached for about an hour and a half, and there was a great deal of 



240 Sam P. Jonss. 

plain speaking, but nothing was said in the discourse that any one 
could object to. He had a little amusement at the expense of the 
clergymen when he said: "Brethren, I don't ask for your endorse- 
ment now ; if I didn't do any more good than you do, I would not 
care for your endorsement of my work." This caused a look of 
mild astonishment on the faces of a few of the ministers, but most 
of them heartily relished his remarks. Dr. Johnson smiled his ap- 
proval, and Dr. Briggs expressed the same sentiment by nodding his 
head, and all of them went away very well pleased. An enthusiastic 
lady at the close of the meeting said : "Mr. Jones is just the sort of a 
man I expected he would be." 

The interest in the services was marked from the beginning, and 
was peculiar in the religious history of Toronto. The people had 
been friendly to other great evangelists of America and England, 
whose manner and method was of a more serious character. The 
crowds were immense at all the services, the men leaving their 
business, women their domestic duties, and the claims of society 
and flocking to the Rink two and three times a day. 

The Toronto Globe said: "From six o'clock nearly to ten last 
night there was continuously a big crowd of people around the Mu- 
tual Street Rink. We are disposed to place Sam Jones's great power 
in four things : First, his intense personal conviction, and realities 
of the truths that he uttered; secondly, his naturalness, directness 
and simplicity of speech ; thirdly, in his keen and thorough knowl- 
edge of human nature and the temptations of life; fourthly, his 
unique natural gift of terse, pungent speech, with vivid homely illus- 
trations. It is an easy thing for any one who is disposed to indulge 
in adverse criticism, and to disparage any movement, to generally 
find some plausible pretense for doing so. We are free to confess 
that we do not feel bound to prove every sentiment expressed, but 
in spite of all this;, the fact remains that no such widespread relig- 
ious interest was ever before called forth in this city. Beecher was 
once described as irreverent, so was Spurgeon, so was Talmage, 
so was Moody, and so was Sam Jones. Is it possible that truth, re- 
ligion and morality can be made too familiar to the people. As to 
his metaphors, there was one in Judea about eighteen hundred years 



Sam P. Jones. 241 

ago, who taught by homely illustrations, which were down to the 
level of the fishermen and agricultural laborers. He was called 
irreverent by the formalists of that time, and their protests even 
went to the length of procuring His crucifixion." 

The attention of the whole Provinces of Canada was attracted to 
the meetings, and the people came from many of the leading cities 
to attend the revival. From the standpoint of attendance and gen- 
uine enthusiasm, there had not been such a meeting in the history 
of the city. Mr. Jones took several occasions to compliment them 
for their regard for the holy Sabbath. It was a real joy to him to 
see so large a city as quiet as a country hamlet on the day of rest 
He said : "There is one thing you people of Toronto take the blue 
ribbon for, and that is your God-fearing way in Sabbath observ- 
ance. It gladdens my heart to see a great people in the busy city 
who can stop thinking of temporal affairs long enough to keep the 
Lord's Day holy. You can not buy a newspaper, run a street-car, 
open a theater, sell liquor, or do anything on the Sabbath that God 
would disapprove. You are a great church-going people, and that is 
another thing that I like about you. God will not withhold his 
blessing from a city that will keep the Sabbath and attend divine 
worship. I wish I could say as much for the cities in the United 
States, but the spirit of greed, worldliness and godlessness seems to 
have gotten such a hold upon us in our great cities that the hearts of 
our people are well-nigh eaten out." 

• But he did not fail to find fault with them for legalizing the 
liquor traffic. In his preaching, he denounced the open saloon un- 
mercifully; no one else ever had the conviction nor the boldness to 
do so. In one of his sermons he said : "You will have whisky be- 
cause you want it. Toronto could vote out the saloons and the 
places of shame that infest the city. If you would have the same re- 
spect for God's word, 'Woe be unto you,' that you have for 'remem- 
ber the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,' with your sturdy manhood 
turned against these dives, the city could be freed from them. This 
is a free country, and you can have things just as you want them, 
You don't want any trade on Sunday, and you don't have any. If 
you want prohibition, glory to God, you can get it. [Applause.] 



242 Sam P. Jones. 

I said to the liquor dealers of my town two years ago, 'If my boy 
should come to your grocery and ask for liquor, take him out in your 
back yard, and lay his head on a block, before you would sell it to 
him. If you kill him, his precious soul goes home ; but if you make 
him drunk, he is ruined, body, mind and soul for both worlds.' [Ap- 
plause.] People say prohibition does not prohibit. Well, there are 
murderers notwithstanding the law against murder, but we have the 
fun of hanging a murderer every now and then. [Laughter.] And 
so where there is a prohibitorial law that can put the lawbreakers 
into the penitentiary and have some fun, it is the next best thing 
to religion. [Laughter again.] There are three classes of men 
whom God has never been able to do much with — -the lazy man, the 
stingy fellow, and the fool. I have seen the Lord do his best with 
them, and fail utterly. I say that reverently." 

While preaching in Toronto, there came to the notice of Mr. 
Jones, through the newspapers and other sources, a case which 
stirred the evangelist's sense of justice as it had seldom been touched 
before. 

There was on trial in the city a woman who had burned a saloon, 
and from the fact that the fire started by the woman had come near 
destroying the life of the proprietor of the dive, she was charged 
with arson, the penalty for which, in Canada, is death. 

Mr. Jones gathered the facts of the case together, and while 
preaching against the evils of the liquor traffic before a vast audi- 
ence of Toronto people, he said : "There is to-day a woman on trial 
in your court charged with arson, and who, although she has pleaded 
guilty to the indictment, is as innocent of any crime as a child. 

"This poor woman, I learn, has an only son, and he is her all 
He is the dependence and the hope of the widowed mother. That 
son fell into the habit of drinking, and it was at the groggery to 
which his mother stuck the fire that he would spend his hard-earned 
money and debauch himself day after day. The drinking of the 
son was breaking the heart of his good mother, and she pleaded with 
him to give it up and be the man she wanted him to make. When 
she saw that her pleadings with the boy were of no avail, she went 
to the keeper of the dive and laid the case before him. Tlease 



Sam P. Jonks. 243 

don't sell this stuff to my son any more,' she said; 'he is all I have 
in the world, and I pray you not to ruin him for this and the world 
to come. If you will not sell my boy any more whisky I will bring 
you the amount he would spend at your place, and give it to you 
myself every Saturday night. It is not the money I want, but the 
soul of my precious boy.' Now, that bull-necked, white-aproned 
scoundrel drove that weeping, heart-broken mother out of his place, 
and with a laugh, said : 'As long as your son has the money, he can 
get what he wants at my place.' 'I warn you,' said the good woman, 
'that you can not and must not sell that stuff to my boy again.' 

"A few nights after that the boy came reeling home so drunk that 
he cursed and abused his mother, a thing he had never done before. 
He chided her with having attempted to interfere with his business 
in asking the saloon-keeper not to sell him any more whisky. The 
abuse of the drunken young man so outraged the mother that she 
gathered up a bundle of rags, soaked them with kerosene oil, and 
after setting them afire, placed the blazing bundle under the corner 
of the little groggery. The little dive was soon in flames, and it 
burned so rapidly that it came near getting the scoundrel that ran 
the place. He was sleeping in his establishment. 

"Now, as I said before, this poor woman is on trial for her life, 
but if they will give Sam Jones just ten minutes before that jury, 
and they then bring in a verdict of guilty, I will gladly take her place 
and let them hang me." [Although the Canadian people are not 
demonstrative, and seldom applaud a public speaker, this utterance 
of the evangelist brought forth vociferous applause which lasted 
for many minutes.] 

"It has come to a pretty pass," said Mr. Jones, continuing, "in 
this day of boasted civilization and culture, that the laws of our 
land will give a white-aproned scoundrel the right to burn up the 
souls of thousands of young men of this country, and will punish 
with death the woman whose only offense was the attempted pro- 
tection of her only boy from a drunkard's grave. God pity the 
country whose laws will give protection to the damnable saloon- 
keeper, and will not aid the noble mothers in protecting their boys 
from the evils of the liquor traffic." 



244 Sam P. JonSS. 

The trial of the woman ended the following day, and the verdict 
of the jury was, "Not guilty." 

Conversions had multiplied day by day, until Rev. Hugh John- 
son said in the public press that there had been at least six thousand 
people converted who had expressed themselves for church member- 
ship. Inquired the reporter : "Does this represent all the good that 
has been accomplished so far?" Dr. Johnson replied: "Oh, dear, 
no; not a tithe of it. Thousands have been impressed and started 
upon a new life, and have manifested it by rising in the congrega- 
tion and remaining in the after-service." "Are the meetings coming 
up to your expectation?" he again inquired. "They are, indeed," 
said Dr. Johnson. "Such results seldom come so early in a meet- 
ing." "What about the opposition aroused ?" "Of course the devil 
and his crew, the drinking, swearing, gambling, theater-going, fast- 
living crowd hate him, and fight him for his awful invectives and 
powerful thrusts at sin, but the best people of this city stand by him. 
His hard hits and droll illustrations cause outbursts of laughter, 
which annoy some of the hidebound old fellows, who think it is a 
sin to laugh in a meeting, but his common sense, directness, and 
earnestness, manifested in every look and gesture, and merriment 
carries instant convictions, and his way of putting things is simply 
inimitable and irresistible. His pathos is the most natural and ten- 
der that I ever listened to, and at times you will see the eyes of 
thousands suffused with tears." "Do you and the ministers endorse 
everything he says?" "No, we don't need to. To turn up our 
nose at what may seem irreverent to us is to put ourselves above 
God, who honors him so greatly in the salvation of souls,, and the 
Holy Spirit, who seizes upon the marvelous combination of gifts 
and powers, and uses them for his own glory." "Are not the ex- 
penses of these meetings very heavy?" "Yes, but you must remem- 
ber that the Musical Festival in the Rink cost five thousand dollars 
a day, making a total of fifteen thousand for the three days. No 
one seemed to raise an objection to that. The comparatively small 
expense will be met by the collections and the generosity of 
friends." "It seems that the other churches are falling into line." 
"Yes, good people can not keep out of a great work like this. I 



Sam P. Jonss. 245 

saw the president of the Baptist College, Dr. Cassel, and a majority 
of the Baptist ministers of the city deeply interested in his after- 
noon service. Methodist fire and Baptist water when brought to- 
gether give steam, propelling power to the gospel engine. The 
Church of England ministers, and the Congregational and Presby- 
terian clergymen are taking interest. They generally go hand in 
hand in spiritual work of this kind. We expect to follow this evan- 
gelistic meeting by united services in every section and suburb in 
Toronto. We are bound to keep at it as the work reaches further 
and deeper each day." 

At the closing service of the meeting thousands of people left 
their homes early in the evening to secure seats for the final sermon. 
While six thousand or more were packed into the Rink by seven 
o'clock, the meeting commencing an hour later, there were as many 
who were turned away and suffered disappointment. By a mistake 
the Mutual Street Rink was opened fifteen minutes after six, and 
the crowd soon filled every seat in the spacious building. Most of 
the disappointed ones returned home, but hundreds remained on the 
outside, gazing eagerly at the windows and doors. Members of the 
.choir, the reporters and policemen were crowded out of the meeting. 
The dressing-rooms of the Rink were filled with people, though none 
•of them could see the preacher or hear a word of the sermon. The 
-dressing-rooms were so densely crowded that several women fainted, 
but the ushers were afraid to open the doors for fear the crowd 
would rush in, and at last a window was smashed and a number of 
rial f -suffocated men and women left the building. A hundred or 
more outsiders rushed to the window trying to get the places thus 
vacated. In making closing announcements, Dr. Potts said: "Re- 
vival services will continue at the Methodist churches, Elm Street, 
Sherbourne Street, Carolton Street/Blewer Street, Burkely Street, 
Richmond Street, Queen Street, Agnes Street, Woodgreen Street, 
King Street, and Dundas Street. Other meetings will start 
soon at the St. Paul's church, Spadina Avenue church, Gerard 
church, and Parksdale Methodist church." Dr. Potts then called on 
Dr. Hugh Johnson to lead in prayer. Then Mr. Jones arose and 
said : "Before I take my text, I will say that I have received many 



246 Sam P. Jonss. 

communications, more than I can read. It was impossible for me 
to answer them. I will turn them over to my secretary, and he will 
pick out such as demand answering, and I will dictate answers to 
him. 

"It was scarcely possible for me to get in the door of this build- 
ing to-night, owing to the great surging mass of people on the out- 
side so eager to get in. I suppose, well, I might say thousands 
sought admittance here to-night and could not find it. Oh, how it 
bleeds my heart to see the hungry world. God feed them all with 
His truth and grace. I want to say, many of you I will never see 
again this side of the judgment bar of God. I want to say to you 
that I have been drawn towards you as a people. I came here with 
admiration in my soul for Toronto and her people, and that admira- 
tion has been turned into love, the divinest passion that ever stirred 
a human heart. I thank God I ever came to this city. I only wish 
that this association might be continued indefinitely. I say to you, 
I love you, and I trust that this love can be mutual. And, brethren, 
let me say to you, give me your prayers and your sympathy, as they 
have in other places. This work overwhelms me with the respon- 
sibility of it. I carry it as God may help me. I am glad I am a man. 
The sun without its spots would be a sight this world never saw. 
I am as frail as any of you. I have as many imperfections as any of 
you. I have as many faults and foibles as any of you. And yet un- 
derstand, brother, that my heart is full of the love of God, my heart 
is full of love to my fellow man. I know I love God, and I know 
I love every man that walks this earth, and I love every woman, as 
much as my wife will let me." [Laughter.] 

[Dr. Potts here whispered, "Precious wife."] 

"As Dr. Potts would have me say, 'precious wife.' I have used 
the expression so much, he seems to like that term. I don't know 
why." 

Dr. Potts said, "We approve of it. We are going to adopt it here 
in Toronto." 

In March of the following year Mr. Jones returned to Toronto 
for a four days' mission, mostly in the interest of temperance and 
municipal reform. While his work took the character of evan- 



Sam P. Jones. 247 

gelistic services and many were converted, his greatest work was in 
behalf of prohibition. Many times afterwards, he visited the city 
and lectured, and was always greeted by large audiences. He 
preached and lectured in many of the prominent cities of the Do- 
minion, and some of his warmest, staunchest and truest friends 
were among the Canadians. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



Omaha and Kansas City. 

In November, 1886, Mr. Jones opened his meetings at Omaha, 
Nebraska. It was the farthest Western point he had ever visited, 
and he found himself among a new and a strange people. 

The Westerners were big-hearted and generous, however, and 
having heard much of the strenuous preacher, they received him 
with kindly expectancy. Mr. Jones had hesitated for some time, 
preferring not to go so far from his Georgia home, but the ministers 
of Omaha pressed upon him so emphatically their need of his serv- 
ices that he finally consented to make the journey. 

Upon his arrival in Omaha he saw at once that the min- 
isters were in hearty sympathy with him, and could be counted on to 
give their support. This was encouraging, and did much to make 
the meeting a success. 

The committee on arrangements secured the Exposition Build- 
ing, which seated five thousand, and allowed standing-room for 
many more. 

The meetings at Omaha continued for three weeks, and from the 
preaching there resulted a widespread religious awakening. At 
every service there was a larger crowd than the building would seat, 
and the interest of the people was intense. 

There was little pronounced opposition in the Nebraska city. The 
newspapers received him with kindness, and one or two with words 
of genuine praise. An editorial from the Republican follows : 

"The primary cause of Sam Jones's strength as a preacher lies 
in the fact that he has brains. A mere explosion of slang and pro- 
vincialism would not create much of an excitement for any length 
of time. Bald vulgarity would not have lifted him from, a Georgia 
country pulpit to a position of national prominence in the religious 

(248) 



Sam P. Jones. 249 

world. When results are large and continuous, they must be con- 
sidered just as they are. Prejudice can not always trace them back 
to petty sensationalism. 

"This man has preached all over the country. In every city he 
has visited he has met with opposition on his arrival. The general 
estimate of those who have not heard him, and who should not, as 
a consequence, estimate him at all, is unfavorable. But the people 
he attracts by the curiosity to see and hear him he holds by his force. 
There is crude, rugged, epigrammatic vigor in what he says that ap- 
peals to the popular sensibilities. He carried more rocks in his 
pockets than frills on his clothes. He has the earnestness of the old- 
fashioned belief which never minces words, or introduces the name 
of the Almighty without prefatory apology. In Whitfield's time, 
when a sparse population and much solitude in the wilderness made 
the early pioneer introspective and emotional, Jones would have 
probably been as great a force as Whitfield. As it is, he has made 
larger progress in a cynical age, and in. a day of veneer and super- 
ficial free thought. No ordinary man could have done this. 

"It is said that he makes money. We don't know whether he 
does or not, but we hope he does. There is no particular reason 
why vice should monopolize all the profits of the world. It would 
"be a rather poor incentive to do good if poverty and religion are to 
T>e synonymous and immorality is to have all the worldly advan- 
tages. We fail to see why religion should be discriminated against. 
Naturally this is the point at which the 'sell all that thou hast' 
should be quoted, but if this is to be taken literally there will have 
to be a general auction sale of all the effects of all the professing 
Christians. No man can insist upon the letter of the law for other 
people when he pays scarcely any attention to even the spirit of it 
himself. The truth is that the church is rich enough to pay its work- 
ers, and to pay them well. If it would devote less money to brick 
and more to brains it would be much stronger to-day. The blood 
of the martyrs is the seed of the church, but the martyrs will have 
very little blood if they do not get enough to eat. It is a poor sort 
of creature who will grudge any minister of the gospel the bread 
necessary for himself and family. 



250 Sam P. Jones. 

"Quite independent of religion, and purely as a social force, Sam 
Jones has his value. If, out of all the vast audiences he has ad- 
dressed, he has given but one man a glimpse of higher morality and 
taught him his duty to society and his fellows, he has done a work 
of which he may be proud. But he has convinced thousands instead 
of one. He deals with faults and vices with an unsparing tongue, 
and even if the lesson does not sink immediately, it may have an 
after-value. A rough customer said to Moody once, 'For forty- 
eight hours after listening to you I was a good man.' 'Thank God 
for that much/ replied Moody, 'in those forty-eight hours, under 
other circumstances, you might have committed murder.' 

"Sam Jones has the heartiest sympathy of the Republican in his 
work. Any man who tries to do good is doing good." 

This editorial was considered by Mr. Jones to be one of the best 
that had ever been written about him and his work. It gave a great 
deal of help while he was in Omaha. 

He always mentioned the meeting at Omaha with a great 
pride, and with thankfulness to God, for there he gained a great 
victory in a strange country. Omaha was one of the most prosper- 
ous and growing cities of the central West. Everything there was 
wide open. At the beginning, the idea of his accomplishing much 
good in so godless a place seemed almost ludicrous to a great many 
of the people, but before his labors were finished their doubts were 
dispelled. The churches in Omaha were wonderfully strengthened 
by the work, and the moral and- religious life of the city was greatly 
improved. He made hundreds of friends in Omaha, who were 
true to him until his death. 

It was some time after the Omaha meeting before he went to 
Kansas City. Just before his engagement at the latter place he 
had passed through one of the most trying ordeals of his life. My 
severe illness had been a severe strain upon him, and when he 
reached Kansas City, January i, 1887, he was practically worn out. 
However, he was so grateful to God that death's cruel hand had 
been stayed, that he felt he could best show his gratitude by taking 
up immediately the work of winning souls. 

The ministers had arranged for the meetings to be held in the 



Sam P. Jonss. 251 

Temple, a new, large building, with a seating capacity of eight thou- 
sand. When Mr. Jones first spoke, he was greeted by at least ten 
thousand people, as every seat in the building was taken, and hun- 
dreds were standing in the aisles. The news of his great sorrow 
had preceded him to Kansas City, and this seemed to soften the 
criticism that was directed towards him. The newspapers of Kansas 
City were especially kind to him and editorially favored his com- 
ing. They gave fine reports of his meetings, devoting large space 
daily to his sermons. 

The illness in his home had wonderfully softened his heart, and 
he preached with deep spirituality and tenderness. He did not, 
however, spare the evil-doers of the city. He waged a terrific war 
against the saloons and gambling-houses, and his preaching was 
effectual in closing a number of the latter. The saloons were regu- 
lated also by the Law and Order League that was organized after 
he left the city as one of the results of his meeting. 

The first meeting held for "men only"at Kansas City showed the 
deep interest that had been aroused. There were more than eight 
thousand representative men of the city crowded into the_Temple. 
It was held in the afternoon of a week-day, which made it a. most 
remarkable gathering. It was a magnificent congregation, and every 
one present listened intently, from the first word to the last. They 
cheered him lustily, and laughed and wept as his message swayed 
them between the two emotions. 

At no place had Mr. Jones ever received more careful considera- 
tion. The people wanted to hear himi, and his sermonsi sank into 
the hearts of his hearers, resulting in the conversion and reforma- 
tion of hundreds. 

The ministers of the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, 
Lutheran and Congregational churches were in sympathy with the 
work, and gave him great help by their cooperation in the meetings. 
By their help and influence the good work was carried to all parts 
of the city, and the question of religion was the great topic of dis- 
cussion by people from all walks of life for many weeks. 

Mr. Jones wrote in a letter to the Wesleyan Christian Advocate: 
"We of course have had the usual criticisms in Kansas City, but 



252 Sam P. Jones. 

there is a strong undercurrent of deep conviction upon the city ; the 
ideas of sin and righteousness dominate the whole city. The leading 
business men of the city tell me that religion is the subject of con- 
versation in the banks and other business places." 

Mr. Jones labored for the entire four weeks while he was there 
with the greatest earnestness and zeal. At the closing service he 
was made happy by the reading of a testimonial from the ministers 
of the city, by Rev. Schley Schaff, pastor of the First Presbyterian 
church, who prefaced the reading with the following remarks: 

"Mr. Jones, you are about to close your labors in Kansas City. 
For four weeks you have worked incessantly in our midst. Large- 
audiences have hung upon the words that came from your lips. We 
brethren were in doubt as to what attitude to assume toward you, 
not having heard you, but the more we have heard your piercing 
utterances against iniquity, the more we have seen of you personally 
in the pulpit, the more closely we have unanimously gathered around 
you, until this afternoon, if it were possible for all the ministers be- 
longing to the different denominations to be here, they would, per- 
haps, without an exception, express their earnest, cordial regard for 
you personally, your earnest sympathy to men and the promotion of 
the cause of righteousness, of good morality and of repentance, and 
sir, I hold in my hands now a paper which is a testimony on our 
part of your fidelity in this work, and of our warm personal regard 
for you. Shall I read it?" ["Yes, yes," from all over the house.} 
He read : 

"Kansas City, Mo., January 28th. 

"To the Rev. Sam Jones, Evangelist. 

"Dear Brother : We, brethren in the ministry in Kansas City, 
desire herewith to express to you our warm fraternal affection and 
our rejoicing over the good work you and your co-workers have 
been enabled to do in our midst. For four weeks of unremitting 
labor, you have preached with earnestness and tenderness the great 
things out of God's moral law, and salvation by grace. Your clear- 
exposure of sin, and your keen denunciations of it in every form 
and as it manifests itself in all stations and avenues of life, have. 



Sam P. Jones. 253 

quickened the moral sensibilities of our churches and aroused, as we 
believe, the dormant consciences of a multitude in this city. The 
immense attendance upon the services day and night of men of all 
ranks from the richest to the poorest, from the pure to the de- 
bauched, in spite of some of the bitterest weather ever known in the 
city — an attendance growing larger to the end — this is a sufficient 
indication of the interest which your preaching, under God, has 
stirred. The people have heard the preaching. God grant that 
multitudes may date their eternal salvation from this season of uni- 
versal thought and widespread earnestness. To this expression 
of warm personal regard and confidence, we add our prayer, com- 
mending you to the grace and guidance of God, and supplicating 
that He may continue to grant you strength, wisdom, and all help 
to go on in the good work of calling men to repentance and faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ. We are very truly your "friends." 

This was signed by twenty-five of the leading ministers of all de- 
nominations, and was greatly appreciated by Mr. Jones, who re- 
sponded in well-chosen words to this deed of brotherly love. 

During his stay there Mr. Jones became very fond of Kansas 
City, and spoke of it favorably as a residence city. Upon learning 
of this, the people made an effort to induce him to locate there. He 
was besieged with requests from the people that he make his home 
with them, and for many months after he left was importuned by 
those who loved him to return and locate in their midst. They 
urged the convenience of the location upon him, showed him the 
advantage of the railway facilities of the city, and attempted to con- 
vince him of how much more good he could do from being located 
in a point accessible to all parts of the country. Many arguments 
were brought to bear upon him, but Mr. Jones declined with thanks 
the kind offers they made to give him a handsome home, saying he 
could not bring himself to the point of leaving his Georgia home. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



Th£ Great Work in Boston. 

The Methodist Union invited Mr. Jones to visit Boston. He had 
labored in every section of the country except the New England 
States, and Boston being the "hub" and the most renowned city 
from a literary and religious viewpoint, he accepted the call. The 
opportunity was great for him to impress himself upon that part of 
the Union. Mr. Jones believed that a great work could be accom- 
plished in Boston, and gave them as the date for the meeting, Jan- 
uary i, 1887. 

When the papers announced his coming, the Associated Press tel- 
egraphed the news throughout the length and breadth of the coun- 
try. The eyes of the United States were upon him, and a great deal 
of speculation was indulged in in regard to his going there. His 
enemies and critics said he had at last come to the city that would 
be his Waterloo. They felt assured that Boston's refinement and 
culture would not long tolerate the "slang" and "vulgarism" of the 
Georgia evangelist, and that he would fail utterly and ingloriously 
in the city of great learning. His friends studied the situation with 
great fear as to the final outcome of the proposed visit. Others, 
with faith in his ability and in God's power, believed that he would 
capture Boston and succeed there as he had done everywhere else. 
Those occupying a neutral attitude towards him said : "If Sam Jones 
can go to Boston and make his meeting a success, he can go any- 
where in, the world, for Boston is so full of 'isms and religions,' and 
the people have such a hypercritical mind toward every move that is 
not of Boston origin and stamp. If he can create an interest and 
impress Boston he will demonstrate to the entire world his mastery 
of assemblies, and make for himself a permanent place in the history 
of the civilized world." 

(254) 



Sam P. Jones. 255 

His correspondence was full of letters of advice from Boston and 
other cities, as to the most expedient way for him to preach to the 
highly-cultured audiences at the "literary hub of the universe." Some 
of the correspondents expressed doubts as to the wisdom of his go- 
ing at all. Mr. Jones received these suggestions kindly, but with 
a smile, and they did not for an instant disturb his equilibrium, or 
turn him aside from his determination to go and in the strength of 
the Lord conquer the powers that be. He was conscious of the 
power with which God had endowed him. With an omnipotent 
faith in the Holy Spirit to be present and guide him in his work, he 
had every assurance that the campaign would result in great vic- 
tory for the cause of his Master. 

There was much curiosity and doubt among some of the ministers 
who invited him: as to the probable success or failure of his work 
among them. They thought that perhaps his fearless attacks on the 
sins and vices of men in the cities in other parts of the United States 
by no means guaranteed victory in Boston. They were apprehensive 
of his methods, and would not have been surprised had his ministry 
there been an utter failure. However, one of the most prominent 
Methodist preachers of the city who had heard him in Cincinnati 
and other places, was enthusiastic over his coming, and was sure of 
a great welcome and hearing in Boston. The pastors of other Pro- 
testant churches had not joined in the invitation, and the fact that he 
was coming under the auspices of the Methodist churches made it 
possible for those who were not in the closest sympathy to be guilty 
of denominational jealousy. It made the task much greater because 
other denominations were not united in his coming. These minis- 
ters had withheld their support, because they felt that they could 
not endorse Mr. Jones and his methods. Mr. Jones obtained the 
facts as to the conditions of affairs in the city, and made preparation 
for the campaign according to the conditions existing there. Before 
reaching the city he knew as much about Boston and its religious at- 
mosphere as some of the oldest residents and ministers who had la- 
bored there the longest. He was thoroughly prepared for the work. 

The press had had much to say about his coming, and many sto- 
ries had been published of his work, which were absurd and ridicu- 



256 Sam P. Jones. 

lous, but, nevertheless, had created much opposition against him. 
They thought that the refinement of Boston iniquity would allow 
him little room 'to vent his religious wrath/ and that his sermon- 
matter would not interest and amuse his audiences, as it would be 
far below their standard of culture and intellectual attainment. The 
entire situation presented a psychological study of the deep, re- 
ligious problems and of the preacher who was to deal with them. 
The literati of Boston, including the great poets, philosophers and 
clergymen, indulged in much speculation and conjecture as to how 
his sermons would be received. 

Phillips Brooks during a long career had preached in his great 
cathedral ; Edward Everette Hale, the apostle of Unitarianism, had 
spent a long life indoctrinating his followers ; the renowned Joseph 
Cook had stirred and thrilled the city at his noonday lectures; the 
professors and dignitaries of Harvard University had instructed and 
cultured the citizenship of Boston ; the disrupting and disintegrating 
influences of Christian Science, occultism, theosophy and every 
other "ism" had been hatched out in the city. The city, religiously, 
was the greatest conglomeration of "isms" and "ologies" within the 
bounds of the United States. Just how the plain, simple, fearless 
and straightforward preaching of Mr. Jones would impress the 
crowd was a situation open to all manner of conjecture. 

The opening service was held in the People's Temple, the largest 
and most commodious Methodist edifice in the city. The building 
was filled to its utmost capacity and many hundreds were turned 
away at the first service. 

When he was presented to the congregation by the pastor, he 
arose and began his ministry just like he had done in every other 
place. As was frequently his custom, when the people had come 
through great curiosity, and wanting to hear rough and uncouth 
language, he completely changed his style and delivered some of his 
most polished and elegant utterances. The people, from the impres- 
sions that they had gathered, were expecting to see an uneducated 
and unrefined minister, who would shock them and amuse them with 
jokes with very little regard as to his subject-matter. That morn- 
ing his language was chaste, beautiful and abounding in choice sim- 



Sam P. Jones. 257 

lies and figures that were a surprise, a revelation and a delight to his 
cultured listeners. Mr. Jones, who was always keen to see just how 
his messages were being received, was somewhat amused as he 
watched the expressions that played over the faces of his hearers ; 
but as he proceeded his earnestness became more evident, and his 
words fell with such force and pungency that he won his audience 
completely, and they soon forgot their early attempts to analyze him, 
and were lost in the message that he was delivering. Some of them 
were a little stiff and indifferent at first, and tried to throw a 
damper upon his fervency, but soon yielded to his spirit and became 
as earnest and serious in receiving the Word as he was in deliver- 
ing it. 

The next day the Boston Globe had the following account of his 
first appearance. 

"Rev. Sam P. Jones received a hearty welcome yesterday at the 
People's Temple. He said at the close of his day's work that he had 
begun to feel like he was 'somebody,' because of the cordial reception 
given him. Said he : 'I felt some trepidation in coming to Boston, 
which I understood was the city of cold critics, but now I am con- 
winced that the people of this city have not only brains, but very 
warm hearts. Now, we want to run the devil out of Boston. If you 
-people think that the devil is going to let Boston alone, you are very 
much mistaken. I didn't come here to look at its good side. You 
iiave looked at that side until you know all about it. I want you to 
see the other side.' [Laughter.] 'If you think that the devil is 
going to surrender this city without a fight you don't know His 
Satanic Majesty as I do. Let's go to work and take this city for 
Christ, and bombard the devil out of it. Now, all of you take hold 
and help, and don't stand off and criticise. I will say nothing in 
Boston without a purpose. I'll not preach like these other preachers 
do, because there is no use for me to do as other men.' " 

The press of Boston received him with great deference. They 
spoke of him very kindly in their editorials, and gave space for full 
-reports of his sermons. The Globe and the Herald were particularly 
courteous, and through their columns he was enabled to speak to 
-many thousands of people throughout New England. 

Rev. W. N. Brodbeck, chairman of the arrangement committee 



258 Sam P. Jonss. 

for the evangelistic services, made a number of appointments for 
Mr. Jones in different parts of the city. Some of the most promi- 
nent places were Tremont Street Methodist church, Tremont Tem- 
ple and Faneuil Hall. Arrangements were also made for him to 
preach to the ministers of the city, and the first service was held 
under the auspices of the Methodist Social Union. Dr. Brodbeck, 
of the Tremont Street church, presided and introduced him. In ac- 
knowledging the honor conferred on him, he created much merri- 
ment as he related an incident of a colored servant in the South 
whose boasting propensity called forth a rebuke of his master, who 
told him he was of no account anyway, and to which Sambo replied : 
"I know I'm no 'count, Massa, but I belong to one of the biggest 
families in old Georgy." "So I feel," said he, "as I look in the 
faces of you ministers, that I, too, belong to one of God's big fami- 
lies." He then talked to them of the movement that had been inau- 
gurated, and urged each minister to assist in making the movement . 
one of the most far-reaching ever held in Boston. The ministers had 
never heard just such a sermon before, and were completely capti- 
vated by the address. 

At all the night services the People's church was crowded to its- 
limits. The day services held at the other churches were largely at- 
tended. The noonday service at Faneuil Hall was one of the most 
remarkable in the history of the city. In the "Cradle of Liberty" 
he spoke each day from twelve to one o'clock. There were no seats - 
in the great building and the men came in, some in business clothes, 
many of them in butcher's frocks, and market men in their aprons. 
The men stood in solid mass from the platform back to the entrance, 
while the gallery was full of men and women. Some of his best ser- 
mons were preached on these occasions. At the Tremont Temple he 
spoke several times to a crowded house of business men, ladies and 
city visitors. The most intellectual people of Boston were in at- 
tendance upon these services. Here's where the world-renowned . 
Joseph Cook, D.D., addressed his week-day audiences. The sermon 
that he preached to the audience in the presence of Dr. Cook is de- 
scribed in an interview of one of the papers with* Dr. Cook. The: 
interviewer asked Dr. Cook his impression of Mr. Jones. He re— 



Sam P. Jones. 259 

plied : "I've only heard him twice, but I can say this much. He is a 
remarkable man, a genius, whose words are sharp and incisive, and 
he is earnest, and consecrated to his work. He was not half so 
rough as the papers had represented him. His sharp, epigrammatic 
style pleased the Bostonians, and interested them deeply. Boston 
loves intellectual sprightliness, and Mr. Jones captured them. 
Tremont Temple, where I heard him, was crowded from pit to 
dome with the most cultivated people of Boston, and they were 
moved and swayed as I never saw them before. I saw there great 
doctors of divinity whom I could not move either to smiles or tears, 
with eyes and mouth wide open, laughing and crying under Mr. 
Jones as they would do for no one else. Mr. Jones has completely 
captured Boston." 

Mr. Jones gathered up the impressions made at these extra serv- 
ices, and in his night sermons at the People's church, where the 
great crowds who heard him at these special hours congregated ; in 
this way he succeeded in focusing the attention of the people upon 
the services of the evening. The People's church became the center 
of the great evangelistic campaign. At each meeting the Lord was 
present and the people were deeply and pungently convicted of sin, 
and turned to the Lord in great numbers. The Boston Globe said : 
"Probably no man in Boston has been more talked about in the last 
week or so than Rev. Sam Jones, who is conducting a great revival 
in our city. There was a time when the question, 'What's the mat- 
ter with him ?' was asked most frequently in Boston, and the answer 
was always, 'He's all right.' To-day one hears most frequently the 
question, 'Have you heard Sam Jones ?' and the reply is almost as 
invariably made, 'Yes, several times.' The truth of the matter is, 
there are very few who have not heard him, and the uniform testi- 
mony is that he interests his hearers. There never were such meet- 
ings held in this city, not even those of Elder Knapp, George Whit- 
field and Dwight L. Moody created such a sensation. Mr. Jones is 
original, he can be studied to advantage. At every meeting, almost, 
something new will develop in his striking manner which acounts 
for his forcefulness. His success is due to a composite whole; his 
work, his words, his methods form one complex system. His illus- 



260 Sam P. Jones. 

trations are riddles. Until he approaches the close, no one knows just 
how they will turn, and sometimes he stops a laugh by a sublime 
thought that will start tears by its contrast and force. There is but 
one Sam Jones." 

The Herald said: "The keen wit, sarcasm and apt comparisons 
and illustrations of Mr. Jones are enjoyed immensely. In the most 
intense manner he forces the plain truth upon the people. All the 
sermons and addresses are published in full in the Herald, Globe r 
Journal and some other daily papers; thus tens of thousands of 
people are getting some of the best religious reading they have had 
for many years. We never knew of such a widespread interest of 
religion in this city as is now sweeping over it. Hundreds are 
seeking God." 

The Boston Evangelical Ministers' Association, which included 
all of the preachers of Boston, and a large number in adjoining 
cities, invited him to preach before that august body in the Tremont 
Temple. 

That handsome auditorium was well filled with ministers and 
Christian workers from the city, and prominent clergymen came in 
from all parts of New England. Such men as Joseph Cook, Bishop 
Phillips Brooks, Edward Everette Hale and hundreds more of the 
most prominent ministers were present. When Mr. Jones was in- 
troduced, he slowly walked to the edge of the platform and looked 
out upon the most remarkable gathering that he had ever seen. 
There these church dignitaries sat erect, stiff and cold, as if they 
were determined not to yield an inch while he proceeded to talk. He 
spoke in a conversational voice, that those near by could hear 
each word, while those far away began to lean forward to catch what 
he said. On and on he went, while they sat there like statues. He- 
was never more conscious of his power and never took greater delight 
in addressing an audience than that day, when the theological learn- 
ing and scholarship of Boston and New England sat at his feet. See- 
ing his opportunity, he made a thrust or two at them with some of 
his characteristic drollery, accompanying it with a twinkle in his eye r 
when the great audience unconsciously broke out into a hearty laugh.. 
The ice had been broken, and epigrammatic sayings and anecdotes, 



Sam P. Jones. 2Q1 

full of wit, humor and sarcasm, followed each other in rapid succes- 
sion, until the audience had yielded to his will, and were swayed as if 
by magic. He continued to preach and lecture to them until time 
was lost sight of, and finally he stopped and pulled his watch from 
his pocket and said : "Well, brethren, I have been talking something 
over an hour to you, and I bring this address to a close." Shouts of 
"go on, go on," came up from all parts of the building. Then he 
addressed them for a few moments with deep earnestness and pa- 
thos, closing the lecture with a most sublime and pathetic ap- 
peal, which brought the great audience to tears, and amid their 
sighs and sobs, while wiping the tears from their eyes, he bade them 
God-speed in their work. Such an ovation followed that the most 
distinguished men in the church rushed to the platform and gave 
him a hearty handshake, and from that day he had the complete 
sympathy and cooperation of the ministers of Boston. 

The meeting continued for four weeks, and in the regular services 
for the mixed audience and in special- services for men and women, 
great appeals were made for the salvation of the lost, and the con- 
verts responded freely. 

The last meeting held for the men at Faneuil Hall was crowded 
as before, and the Boston Globe said : "It was a touching scene in. 
old Faneuil Hall yesterday at noon when Sam Jones closed his series 
of talks there to business men. He had just been describing the 
heavenly city toward which he was bound, the city with the pearly 
gates, the walls of Jasper, the streets of gold, when he suddenly 
asked : 'All those who have received good from the meetings raise 
your hands/ Up went hundreds of bronzed hands without the hesi- 
tation of a moment. Dr. Brady was on his feet in an instant, saying : 
'All you who want to meet Mr. Jones in heaven put up your hands 
again.' Nearly every person present, the butcher, the baker, the 
candlestick-maker, the man in worn-out clothes, and good clothes, 
shot his arm upward into the air with eagerness and earnestness. 
The ladies in the gallery arose to their feet, expressing the same de- 
sire. Such a scene had never been witnessed within the walls of the 
historic building." 

The closing meeting was held on Sunday in the Mechanics Hall 



262 Sam P. Jones. 

The great hall would accommodate between ten and twelve thou- 
sand. The press said: "The magic of Sam Jones's name drew an 
audience to Mechanics Hall to listen to his shrewd, quaint and inimi- 
table style of address that could only be estimated by the seating 
capacity of the immense building. Whatever that may be, it was 
demonstrated that the hall wasn't big enough to hold all who desired 
to hear Sam Jones. A multitude of people stood up during the 
services, and several thousand were altogether unable to gain ad- 
mission to the hall. It is undoubtedly true, as was remarked by a 
member of the committee having charge of the service, that no place 
less spacious than 'The Commons' would iurnish ample accommo- 
dations for one of the audiences of Sam Jones. 

"Standing before this sea of faces, which seemed to extend far 
into the distance, Mr. Jones preached his farewell sermon on 'Con- 
science, Record, and God.' " This closed his first and great meeting 
in Boston. 

Just ten years later, 1897, Mr. Jones returned to Boston and con- 
ducted another revival. In front of the People's church was this 
sign: 

"The Wonder of the Ages, Sam P. Jones." 

The services were held in practically the same churches, and the 
same way as at the previous meeting. The meeting continued for 
nearly three weeks, and was as remarkable in power and as far- 
reaching in results, if not surpassing, that of 1887. In his second 
visit, as well as the first, he was never received more cordially and 
supported more loyally, and did a greater work, than in Boston. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



On the Pacific Coast. 

/. — Los Angeles. 

It was my privilege to accompany Mr. Jones to the Pacific coast. 
We took our four children and nurse, and had a safe and pleasant 
journey, arriving in Los Angeles, California, on January 13, 1889. 

The first meeting that he conducted was in Los Angeles, and 
upon our arrival in that city we were entertained at the Westminster 
Hotel. Mr. E. O. Excell and wife joined us there. We were given a 
most cordial welcome to the "City of Angels," which is situated in 
an original and genuine earthly Paradise. 

The great daily papers had hailed his coming with delight, and 
the ministry was enthusiastic over his proposed work. For months 
there had been an urgent request for his services, and the people 
seemed to be glad of his coming. We had hardly reached our room 
when the Tribune reporter called upon Mr. Jones. As was his cus- 
tom, he greeted the reporter with courtesy, and showed his sympa- 
thy and appreciation of the work of the public press. He wished to 
know if this was Mr. Jones's first visit to California, and Mr. Jones 
said : "Yes, this is the first time I was ever on this coast, but my 
wife and I were out for a walk this morning, and do you know 
everything seems like a dream in the city ?" The reporter said : "Mr. 
Jones, you rank at the head of American evangelists in the estima- 
tion of our people." "Well," said he, "I don't know about my rank 
being at the head. I am not an evangelist in the sense that Munhall, 
Moody and others are, I belong to the North Georgia Conference, 
and received my appointment like any other preacher, which at the 
present time is the agency of the Decatur Orphanage. I can raise 
the money for this worthy institution while prosecuting my evan- 
gelistic work wherever I am called in the providence of God. For, 

(263) 



264 Sam P. Jones. 

years I preached in the conference, but was literally drawn out into 
this work." "The report has been circulated in this city," said the 
reporter, "that you never go anywhere without a large and stipulated 
salary." "Well, that's not true; at Chautauqua assemblies and East- 
ern camp-meetings, where there is a regular admission fee charged 
I receive a stated amount of money for my services. In such cases 
I always contend that a white elephant is worth the fence around it. 
I never have required any stipulated sum for my services as an 
evangelist." "What is the difference in your success in different 
sections of the country?" "Well, I find the people differing wher- 
ever I go ; more depends upon the size of the city than its location. 
I have been successful in the great cities of the South, in Cincin- 
nati, Chicago, Toronto and Boston, and in all these places the build- 
ings were inadequate to accommodate the throngs that came to hear 
me. You can bite an apple, but a pumpkin you can only nibble and 
slobber over. Charleston, S. C, was an apple. I spoke to five thou- 
sand people, one-tenth of the population, and through that tenth I 
could have some influence on the whole, but Chicago is a pumpkin. 
It is unwieldy and bulky. Boston is of a different type, but there the 
people will hear any man who has something to say, and there is no 
better field for evangelism than Boston." "What is your opinion 
of the work of the Young Men's Christian Association?" "It is a 
well-organized body, but, like many churches, the Association could 
do a great deal more than it does. It is a magnificent engine, but 
frequently without steam ; however, I have shown my interest in the 
work of aiding them wherever I have gone and help was needed, in 
raising money to put them on a safe basis." 

In arranging for the meeting the committee had fixed up the great 
pavilion, and had everything suitably arranged. Mr. Excell had an 
excellent choir, which rendered many beautiful selections. Rev. Dr. 
Cantine acted as master of ceremonies, and introduced Mr. Jones. 
At the first service the building was filled with over five thousand 
people, and at least that many were turned away. On account of 
some of the sensational newspaper articles there was a wide differ- 
ence of opinion by the clergy and the people, and much speculation 
in general, as to how he would be received. Mr. Jones with his 



Sam P. Jones. 265 

matchless instinct for sizing up an audience, seemed to know that he 
was on trial, and that a number of people had come, not to hear the 
gospel, but to see if the things that had been published about him 
were true. Those who had come to laugh, scoff and pick flaws in 
the preacher were foiled of their opportunity, as he preached one of 
the most serious sermons, abounding in beautiful figures and touch- 
ing incidents, from the text, "Choose ye this day whom ye will 
serve; as for me and my house, we will serve the. Lord." Joshua 
15:24. 

The audience went away somewhat disappointed in that there was 
nothing to criticise, but deeply impressed with the service. He took 
occasion to put the people on notice as to his attitude regarding the 
objections that had been raised to revivals. Said he : "Some of you 
have been asking if revivals don't react. Yes, they do, just like a 
man's stomach reacts after a big dinner, and he wants another din- 
ner the next day, but that's no sign that he is going to stop eating ; 
it's no sign because you had the first revival that you don't want and 
need another one. As I walked through your streets this morning, 
I was charmed, and said to myself, 'How can sinners flourish where 
God empties heaven every day upon them,' and, with the poet, I 
thought 'every prospect is pleasing, and only man is vile.' Now, 
some of you fellows will say, 'Sam is bidding for a home.' Well, 
bud, I have turned down homes all over this country, and had 
rather live in my little home at Cartersville, Ga., than anywhere on 
earth. When the devil has nothing else to do, he seems to start his 
agent to lying about Sam Jones. I don't care, go it ; if you can say 
worse things about me than I can about you, lam' in. Stagnation- 
is the last station this side of damnation, and the fellow who gets 
there generally goes through." 

He said in closing: "Brethren, I want to see a great work done 
here in Los Angeles. I have not come for fun nor money. I have 
prayed God to make me a power to bring souls to Christ, and I hope 
before next Sunday there will be a blaze of revival ; that this city wilf 
be made as lovely in morals as it is in climate and surroundings." 

The papers became very bitter, and even scurrilous in their criti- 
cisms, both editorially and reportorially ; however, this opposition 



2M Sam P.Jones. 

was soon overcome, and the papers supported him loyally, and gave 
the meeting every consideration. One of them said : "Los Angeles 
is one. of the least wicked and most exemplary places. The entire 
community supports more churches in proportion to its population, 
and nowhere is divine worship more popular, but even Los Angeles 
is not so thoroughly good that it does not need to be stirred up once 
in a while by a broad-gauged, old-fashioned revival of religion. We 
blush to own it, but it is an undeniable fact that the worship of 
Mammon in this city has had about seven days in every week for 
the past years, and if this shameful state of affairs can be changed 
by Mr. Jones, there will be great improvement in both private and 
public morals. We have no doubt that the present revival will con- 
tinue to accomplish a great deal of good, and that men who have 
murdered will confess, who have defrauded will make restitution, 
and that thousands will form resolutions to forsake their evil ways." 

Mr. Jones waged a merciless war upon card-playing, dancing and 
theater-going, which brought upon him the condemnation of the 
society element. A charity ball which had been given during the 
meeting was denounced in the most severe terms, and the papers 
which had recently been loud in his praises turned against him 
again, and with renewed vigor resorted to all kinds of methods in 
order to injure him and destroy his influence. They garbled the re- 
ports of his sermons, and wrote flaming editorials which fanned into 
a short-lived flame a wave of popular resentment. Some of the pa- 
pers deliberately printed statements and credited them to Mr. Jones 
which were absolutely false. As the opposition grew in intensity 
Mr. Jones's denunciation became more fierce, until they were won 
back by his bravery. 

The Los Angeles Christian Advocate had an editorial which gives 
a fine account of the battle between Mr. Jones and the newspapers, 
and the subsequent result : "We have never heard so much religious 
discussion as has been aroused by the Sam Jones meetings, and the 
devil and his emissaries have been completely stirred up. Two sa- 
loon-keepers have been heard to say that they would give big money 
to get a chance to give Sam Jones a thrashing, and undoubtedly all 
the mean, corrupt, dishonest and contemptible villains of the city 



Sam P. Jones. > 267 

would like to contribute to that fund. The Times and Herald, two 
of our dailies, have tried to make themselves popular with the saloon 
and hoodlum crowd by misrepresenting and distorting the evangel- 
ist's utterances, and by publishing editorial criticisms that showed 
their gross ignorance and malignity of spirit. Of course, these ad- 
verse criticisms have only advertised the meetings more extensively, 
and the witty sentences of the evangelist in reply have made these 
papers the laughing-stock of the city. The Times went so far as 
to change the reports of one of Mr. Jones's sermons fur- 
nished them by a reporter in their employ, and when the reporter 
discovered their contemptible practices he immediately left their em- 
ploy. A great number of good people have notified the Times that 
they do not want the paper any more in their home. The Herald 
was first sulky, and then came out in open opposition to the meeting 
in one issue, making desperate assault upon Mr. Jones. The editor 
was drunk on the streets that very day, which may account for it. 
Like the Times, the Herald's opposition has cost it several hundred 
subscribers, and other patronage amounting to several hundred dol- 
lars a year. The Social World, a society paper, in favor of card- 
playing, theater-going, dancing and drinking, said in its Saturday 
issue : 'Sam Jones ought to be ridden out of Los Angeles on a rail.' 
That sentence was the last kick of a dying goose. On Wednesday 
the sheriff sold out the establishment, and the only mourners were 
the creditors of the concern." Thus it would seem that it was not 
profitable to oppose the onward march of the gospel truths, even 
from a secular standpoint. Mr. Jones kept up his war against all 
kinds of sin, preaching three times daily. He seldom dignified the 
individuals and newspapers who fought him with more than a few 
witty words spoken before the beginning of his sermon, but at times 
he administered such stinging rebukes that his audiences burst out in 
uproarious applause, thereby showing their approval of the stand he 
had taken, and disapprobation of those who were fighting him. It 
wasn't long until all the papers came back to his support, and were 
friendly to him to the end. 

Mr. Jones remained in the city for four weeks, and his tireless 
efforts were abundantly blessed of God in the salvation of the people. 



268 Sam P. Jonss. 

The reporters interviewed the leading theatrical managers, most 
prominent saloon-keepers, and managers of the largest beer-gardens 
as to the results of the meeting on their business. They all said in 
substance : "We are certainly getting the worst of this ; our receipts 
in the evening have diminished terribly since the crowds began to go 
down to the pavilion. Frequently they used to come to our places, 
but now they go to hear Sam Jones and then home. We'll be glad 
when he leaves town. Reforms have been effected and impression 
made upon the city that can not cease." 

His closing sermon was delivered on the evening of February 6th. 
Ivong before the hour of service, thousands were being turned away 
from the doors. Never had such an ovation been given any man 
before. At the close, thousands went up and shook hands with the 
evangelist, and during the singing of "God be with you till we meet 
again," the great audience stood there and wept like children. 

An editorial in the Tribune the following morning said: "Rev. 
Sam Jones has been successful not alone in attracting the largest 
audiences that have been seen in Los Angeles, but he has also been 
successful in making converts. Nearly one thousand persons have 
professed Christianity under his ministry. The interest has not de- 
creased a particle, but on the contrary, increased till the last." 

As he left that day for Sacramento, thousands of people went to 
the train and expressed a feeling of deep regret at his departure 
from the city. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



On the; Pacific Coast (Continued). 

//. — Sacramento. 

From Los Angeles he went to Sacramento and began a meeting 
on February nth under the auspices of the Ministerial Alliance of 
that city. The ministers and laymen who were instrumental in 
bringing him to Sacramento called upon him, and gave him 
the status of affairs of the city. There was some apprehension 
on their part as to the safety of Mr. Jones, in case he should preach 
as plainly as he did at Los Angeles. They told him of the great 
weakness of the place, and of some threats that had already been 
made. They warned him about turning his guns upon a certain ele- 
ment in the city. After having laid the capital city before him as 
one of the worst, they said there were men there who would not 
hesitate to kill him should he preach on their sins. He received the 
warning with a smile and said : "I am no respecter of persons. I 
"have preached my convictions all over this country, and I shall not 
change my style in Sacramento. If they get mad with me for 
wanting to clean up this old town, and think it best to kill me, they 
only give me a short cut to heaven. I want you to know that you 
can't put a muzzle on the mouth of your Uncle Jones, and I shall 
not be scared away from my duty." 

On Sunday at three o'clock the first service was, held in the 
Armory Hall. Rev. A. T. Needham opened the service with prayer 
and introduced Mr. Jones. After the introduction Mr. Jones arose 
and said : "We are in this city for the purpose of holding services 
for some time to come. We have been invited to your city by the 
pastors of your churches, and we are here with the promise of hearty 
cooperation of the people and preachers. We are in the interest 
of right, humanity and God; the interest of every good citizen, 

(269) 



270 Sam P. Jones. 

good mother, and virtuous daughter lies close in our hearts. May 
my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth and my right hand lose 
its cunning if I, in your city or elsewhere, shall ever advocate any- 
thing but right or denounce anything but wrong. We are not here 
to discuss isms and dogmas, but to learn what is right, and then 
do it. I was disheartened in talking with your pastors. They said 
that there were forty thousand people in the city; four hundred 
saloons, and ten churches; that an average of three hundred at 
each church was a fine audience. Four hundred drinking places 
to supply the people with liquor and damnation, and ten churches 
to supply them with salvation. Three thousand people go to church, 
and thirty-seven thousand do not. I am simply talking facts; not 
of my own making, but what your pastor gave me ; you must know 
that I believe in God, and in His power, or I would have taken the 
first train out of this town! last night. God has said one man can 
chase a thousand and two can put ten thousand to* flight, therefore, 
we won't be discouraged, because it will only take about four men,, 
good and true, to clean up the whole city for God. [Applause.] 
While you are here by the thousands this afternoon, I am told that 
you are not coming to these meetings. I don't know whether you 
will or not, and, as far as I am concerned, I don't care whether you 
do or not. I have been preaching to large audiences for so* long 
that it would be a real rest to preach to a small crowd for awhile, 
therefore, if you don't want to come here just come around to my 
room at the Golden Eagle Hotel and I will write you out a permit,, 
bud, to stay away." Then he announced his text and preached a 
sermon that completely captured the audience. He had much to 
say against the saloons and other dens of vice in his first sermon. 
The devil, he declared, with all his power, can not do anything 
unless he can get some one to help him, but he has all the help he 
wants in this town. Here are forty saloon-keepers to> each preacher. 
The devil ought to be satisfied with that. The devil doesn't make 
liquor, but he gets some fellow to make it for him; he doesn't sell, 
but he gets some of you rascals to do it for him ; he doesn't make 
gamblers. He has some of the church-members to sit down and 
teach your children to play cards at home, and make gamblers in 



Sam P. Jones. , 271 

"that way. • He just walks around with his hands in his pockets and 
gets you fellows to do what he wants done here in this city. Now, 
it don't make any difference to me whether you are the governor of 
this city or the biggest fellow in it ; I am going to pour the biggest 
shot I have in my pouch into you before I leave here. I shall shoot 
right into the hole where you are. I know you'll come out a-hump- 
ing, declaring you weren't in there, but how are you going to ex- 
plain being shot all to pieces, you idiot you? Now," said he, "I 
want those of you who desire to change your ways, and believe 
I am right about these things, to stand up." In response to his re- 
quest the audience rose almost en masse. 

The audience that attended the evening service was still larger; 
while no more could be crowded into the building, thousands were 
turned away. For three weeks these great audiences waited upon 
his ministry, and some of the most denunciatory sermons he ever 
delivered fell from his lips in Sacramento. Being the "Capital City" 
of the State, the corrupt politicians had dominated the city until 
its corruption was something intolerable. In referring to it he said : 
"Let me tell you, a city like this could never have reached the 
depth of corruption and infamy without some men here making a 
record that the devil himself would be ashamed of. You political 
bosses, you municipal and county bosses, and your henchmen, the 
damnable record that you are writing is enough to make every 
decent citizen in the city rise up and say, by the grace of God the 
thing has gone far enough. [Applause and a voice, 'you're right'] ; 
and when a few of you church-members get backbone and speak 
your convictions this crowd is going to stop, beg your pardon and 
say, 'We didn't know you objected at all.' Infamy was never brave. 
Cowardice is the foundation upon which these scoundrels stand. 
[Applause.] What is your record as a member of the Legislature 
now in session [applause] ; now, some of you need not be clapping 
your hands, for I can find fifty of you rascals in this town to one 
in the Legislature." [The legislators applauded.] "Now, you fel- 
lows needn't applaud, because the only reason I can find fifty rascals 
in town to one in the Legislature is because there are more people 
in the town. I can take the record of some of you legislators and, 



272 Sam P. Jones. 

with the laws of California,, consign yon to the penitentiary before 
to-morrow night. Think of it — a man in the Legislature that 
ought to be in the penitentiary. A lawmaker the worst lawbreaker 
in the land. No wonder California is steeped in lawlessness and 
crime, when its Legislature furnishes its pro rata of lawbreakers. 
Take, for instance, that body on the liquor question. There is not: 
a member that doesn't own that this traffic is cursing the country. 
If 'you haven't this much sense, you haven't enough to be in the 
Legislature. You ought to be in the insane asylum instead of 
where you are. The idea of wanting to enforce upon this towrc 
and other towns in the State a liquor law putting license down to 
eighty-four dollars per year. I believe a legislator that will de- 
liberately vote such a law is owned body and soul by the liquor- 
dealers. May God stir up every preacher and every citizen in this 
whisky-soaked city and put an end tx> this infernal traffic. If every 
stave in a whisky barrel in this town could be turned into. a wing,, 
every one of you could pin two on your shoulders and fly off to the 
Lord. You are the most corrupted people by liquor I have ever 
seen. A decent man came to this town the other day and looked 
around and said : 'I won't bring my wife and children to a town 
where there are ten churches and four hundred saloons.' Then- 
your faro-banks and gambling-dens are wide open. How can a 
mayor, who swears to execute the law, and the chief of police, who 
takes his oath of office, sleep at night with the consciousness that the 
law is overridden and this town is debauched? If I were mayor 
of this place I would put the gamblers and saloon-keepers where 
they would have to obey the law. But your mayor hasn't any back- 
bone, just a little string run up his back, with a few ribs hitched 
to it. It is dangerous for men to walk the streets at night. When 
I was in St. Louis I thought that was the most wicked city I ever' 
saw, but if hell is due west from St. Louis, I think you are just 
about twenty-five hundred miles nearer to it. 'My!' you say, 'I 
have never been talked to this way before' ; well, what are you going 
to do about it ? You say you are going to drum Sam Jones out of 
town. Well, boys, I've got the drum, and I won't lend it to you." 
This was one of the most terrific sermons that Mr. Jones ever 



Sam P. Jones. 273 

preached, and the audience was at first full of resentment, but was 
changed to conviction before he finished. The people went away 
admiring his bravery, and more interested than ever in his ministry. 

It was noised abroad that schemes had been concocted to assas- 
sinate Mr. Jones. He had taken his life in his own hands, and had 
faithfully proclaimed the truths of God. Just before going to the 
evening service the next day a committee came to the hotel and 
told Mr. Jones that there were men' waiting at the door to shoot 
him as he started to the building, but with his dauntless courage and 
faith in God, he looked at mie and said: "Wife, don't you know 
that God will take care of me and protect me as long as I am doing 
my duty." He deliberately walked down the stairway, refusing 
the protection of friends and officers, and went out of the hotel. He 
proceeded to his carriage, and as he took his seat he turned to one 
of the men and said : "If I live until one of those cowardly scoun- 
drels shoot me, I will make old Methuselah look like a plumb baby 
by the side of me." Upon reaching the Armory Hall, where the 
immense crowd had assembled, he continued his fearless preaching 
as if no opposition existed. 

One of the papers, the Bee, continued its denunciation of Mr. 
Jones and his work, but he soon turned the table on the editor, 
saying: "I can't see for the life of me how you call yourselves 
civilized and will allow that vicious little sheet to be thrown into 
your front yard, I would just as soon have a mad dog turned 
loose in my front yard to bite my children. The dog could only 
kill the poor little bodiiesi, but a vicious thing like that dirty little 
sheet will cause them: to lose regard for religion and wreck them 
body and soul for both worlds." Applause, after his arraignment of 
the Bee was long and definite. The fate of the paper was not long 
in writing, as it was a sad one to its editor and owners, but a relief 
to the city. 

The meeting in Sacramento, in many respects, was not what 
might be termed a great one in converting souls; while hundreds 
were brought into the church, nevertheless, in waking up the con- 
sciences of the city and in purifying its morals it was most re- 
markable. His ministry led the people to demand from their offi- 
10 j 



274 Sam P. Jonss. 

cials the enforcement of their laws, and when the meeting closed 
there were no open gambling-places, and the laws regarding the 
Sunday saloons were enforced. Thousands stood up at the closing 
service and testified that they had started for a better life, and hun- 
dreds gave evidence of genuine conversion. 

At the end of four weeks he closed his remarkable work and 
moved on to San Francisco. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



On the Pacific Coast (Continued). 

III. — San Francisco. 

San Francisco was the last city Mr. Jones visited on the Pacific 
coast The great metropolis afforded a very inviting field for his 
work. The committee in charge of the meetings offered us our 
choice of hotels and Mr. Jones selected the Occidental, because it 
was more of a family hotel, where he could be quiet. 

The Mechanics' Pavilion had been arranged for the revival. It 
would accommodate five thousand people. Mr. E. Q. Excell led the 
large choir, and the services were full of interest from the very be- 
ginning. J. D. Hammond, agent of the Western Methodist Book 
Concern and editor of their church paper, had been instrumental in 
bringing Mr. Jones to the Far West. At the first service he was in 
charge, and presented the evangelist to the audience. 

The three lading papers, The Chronicle, The Call and The Ex- 
aminer, had been discussing pro and con his meetings in Los An- 
geles and Sacramento'. In their editorial and press notices they had 
stirred up very much curiosity and interest in the meeting. The 
pavilion was crowded at the first service, and Mr. Jones preached 
his most sympathetic and powerful sermon on John 3:16: "For God 
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that who- 
soever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life." The first sermon was unlike what the audience had ex- 
pected; so full of elegant and chaste language, so much tenderness 
and pathos, that the people were unable to pick a flaw in his ut- 
terances. 

Monday morning each of the papers had full accounts of the 
first service, and had given a description of Mr. Jones and estimates 
of his character and work. The Chronicle said : "Sam Jones has 

(275) 



276 Sam P. Jonss. 

arrived; has talked; has conquered, San Francisco, modern and 
ancient, good, bad and otherwise, filled the seats in the Pavilion at 
both services on Sunday. He is a small, wiry-looking man, with a 
firm jaw, sallow complexion, black mustache, coal-black hair high 
on a rather narrow forehead, finely lined eyebrows, and hands as 
small and delicate as a woman's. He has the slow, drolling accent 
of the Georgian. He is no mere elocutionist, and makes no effort 
at the dramatic. There is pathos in his voice, however, and a 
natural charm about his manner of delivery that soothes the nerves, 
delights the ear and carries with it the sympathies of his listener. 
He is perfectly cool and collected, and says so much in so few 
words, and with such little apparent effort, that the s congregation, 
while delighted, wonder where on earth he came into possession of 
such a, marvelous style. He has the quaint humor of the South and 
is full of homely anecdotes, which he uses to illustrate his text, and 
relates them so naturally that his discourse is brightened by them 
and his congregation at times is convulsed with merriment. He 
is always saying something original, and his audience never 
wearies." The Call and The Examiner had equally as good and 
favorable reports and comments as The Chronicle. As in all other 
meetings, it was not long until he had taken in the situation and 
began to preach against the prevailing sins, and raised the issue for 
the meeting. He led up to this by a reference to the South firing 
upon the Stars and Stripes at Fort Sumter. Said he : "I am sorry 
we fired on that flag. We made a mistake in doing that. No man 
is more loyal to the flag of his country than the one who now ad- 
dresses you. I am not very sorry that we fought you- Northern 
folks, and never will admit that you whipped us. We just wore 
ourselves out fighting you. [Laughter.] But the first thing in 
the war was an issue; the next thing was drawing the lines, and 
then every fellow hustled home to get his gun. So it is in this re- 
ligious warfare. We must raise the issue, draw the line, and every 
fellow get ready to fight. Here in this fair city you are given to 
card-playing, theater-going and wine-drinking, and when a crusade 
is made against these things and a call is made, we can't get a 
corporal's guard with which to fight the devil. You people run 



Sam P. Jones. 277 

home and shoot under the bed; anybody can jump on a little fellow 
and stamp the feathers off him., but it takes a, man to attack the sins 
in high places. I have quit jumping on little fellows. If you want 
to fight me just go where the bottom dog is and scratch under 
him, and if I ain't there, then I am just gone to dinner. I always 
sympathize with the bottom dog. I like a preacher like John the 
Baptist, who would preach against the sins of Herod, and while in 
jail would die before he would retract his words." 

No sooner had the issue been raised, than the papers began to 
defend the people and the city. There was; nothing in the way of 
misrepresentation and denunciation that they did not resort to. This 
led Mr. Jones to speak of them 1 at one of his services. He said : "I 
have been swallowed by whales and nibbled by minnows, but I never 
had the ants crawl over me till I struck the Pacific Slope. The little 
papers in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco are pitching 
into Sam Jones. Now, these little editor ants don't hurt me, they 
just crawl over me and make me itch." This reference created 
much laughter and brought forth enthusiastic applause. Of course 
the papers continued their assault, but finally he won the day, and 
their attacks upon him simply called the attention of more people 
to the meeting. He did not lack for congregations from the very 
beginning, but the issues at stake and the attitude of the press aided 
him: in getting audiences which far exceeded the seating capacity of 
the Pavilion. I i l : -' r | ^ 

Believing that the morals of the city needed purifying he took 
the city officials to task and scored them; without mercy for their 
loose administration. He called attention to the theaters that were 
running in open defiance of the Sabbath laws, and said no city 
could hope for the blessings of God that would ruthlessly disregard 
His injunction to keep the Sabbath day holy. His attacks on the 
saloons were severe, and received just as vigorous attention as in 
other places. The Examiner, edited by William Randolph Hearst, 
took up his remarks on municipal affairs and ridiculously distorted 
them until one would think that Mr. Jones was illiterate, unrefined, 
and without the knowledge of the ordinary citizen. With the re- 
porters sitting in front of him., he called the attention of the au- 



278 Sam P. Jonks. 

dience to the misrepresentations, and, pointing at the reporters, said : 
"You little sap-headed reporters, with eyes so close together that 
you can see through a keyhole with both of them, are sent here at 
night to take down my sermons ; now, if you can't report them as 
I deliver them, you stay away from here. You seem to think your 
mission is to make my sermons funnier and more sensational, and 
in your ridiculous attempts you are slandering me and the cause. 
Now, bud, if you are doing the best that you can, your paper had 
better put you on a job that is small enough for your caliber, and 
let them send a man here that is big enough for the occasion." 

The meeting continued from day to day, growing in interest and 
power, while souls were being converted at all the services. Mr. 
Jones had the cooperation of a large portion of the Protestant 
ministers of the city, which was a source of pleasure and strength 
to him, as he always appreciated the full and sympathetic help of 
the ministers of a city. He was in San Francisco four weeks, and 
thousands of people professed conversion and resolved to live a 
better life. He was urged to remain longer, but his engagements 
elsewhere were pressing him and it was impossible for him to com- 
ply with their wishes. 

In describing the last service one of the papers said : "The odor 
of all kinds of flowers filled the Pavilion yesterday, for the con- 
cluding services had been anticipated by the friends of the evan- 
gelist, who showed their appreciation of his efforts to reform the 
city by decorating the band-stand on which he spoke and the wall 
behind him with the fairest flowers of the garden and forest ar- 
ranged in the most graceful and tasteful manner. The railing of 
the stand was concealed from view by a bank of calla-lilies, while at 
the back of the stand was a cross made of ivy and callas, festooned 
with roses and lilacs. Mr. Jones said : "I have never looked upon 
such lovely valleys, green mountains and crystal streams in my life. 
From my heart I pray that this glorious country may some day 
be given to God, then California will be the greatest State in the 
Union, and San Francisco the fairest city that angels ever looked 
upon. We are told that there shall be a new heaven and earth, 
wherein shall reign righteousness. God could make such a heaven 



Sam P. Jones. 279 

out of California with less transformation than any other part of 
the world." He took occasion to compliment in terms of sincerest 
praise the cordial hospitality with which he had been uniformly re- 
ceived in all the cities of the State. 

At the close of his sermon the ministers, in bidding him fare- 
well, presented the following resolutions : 

''Resolved, That we, ministers of the gospel, residing in San Fran- 
cisco, have greatly enjoyed the services of Rev. Samuel P. Jones 
in this city. He has been abundant in labors, faithful in declaring 
the whole counsel of God and wonderfully successful in stirring 
our community for righteousness. We are thankful that he came, 
our prayers go with him as he goes, and we shall gladly welcome 
him to our city whenever the good providence of God shall again 
bring him to the Pacific coast. 

"Resolved, That the services of Professor Excell, singing com- 
panion to Mr. Jones, have been most enjoyable. He is a workman 
that needeth not to be ashamed. Long may Jones and Excell do 
services for our common Master. 

"(Signed) F. D. Bovard, J. M. Hammon, M. C. Harris, W. W. 
Case, F. M. Washburne, A. J. Nelson, C. V. Anthony, J. Hannon, 
G. W. Izer, Richard Harcourt, N. Carver, M. M. Gibson, Laurenzo 
Waugh, E. G. Matthews, L. M. Schofield, W. S. Urmy, W. S. 
Bovard, H. H. Hall." 

A liberal offering was made for his Orphans' Home and for his 
own support, and thousands pressed forward and gave him their 
hands in token of their appreciation for the great help that they 
had received from his ministry. 

The citizens had requested that he remain over and deliver a 
paid lecture at the close of his evangelistic services. The great 
pavilion was crowded and standing-room was at a premium. The 
policemen, with difficulty, made way for him to reach the platform, 
and when he was introduced the thousands cheered enthusiastically 
for fifteen minutes, making it impossible for him to begin. This 
great ovation visibly affected Mr. Jones, and he delivered one of the 
finest addresses of his life. 

Thus closed his services at the city of the Golden Gate. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



Toledo Meeting. 

Perhaps the most novel situation that Mr. Jones had ever en- 
countered was in Toledo, Ohio. A committee from the Ministers' 
Union had invited him to Toledo for the purpose of fighting the in- 
fluence of the Golden Rule policy of Mayor Samuel M. Jones, who 
had made himself famous by his doctrine of "Do as you would be 
done by." The mayor had injected his principles into the city gov- 
ernment, and dealt with the vices of the city upon that platform, 
which was not approved by a number of the ministers and the Chris- 
tian laymen. Consequently the services of Mr. Jones were sought 
in order that the people might be shown the evils attendant upon the 
Golden Rule regime. It was truly a case of Sam Jones versus Sam 
Jones. 

The newspapers of the city, with one exception, the Bee, were 
favorable to Samuel M. Jones, the mayor, and against the coming 
of Sam P. Jones, the preacher. They were loud in their denuncia- 
tions of the Georgia evangelist, and great injury to the city was pre- 
dicted upon his coming. They appealed to the people from the 
standpoint of the popularity of the Golden Rule policy that was in- 
augurated, and as they said, successfully administered by the mayor. 
Speculations and predictions of dire calamity were read every day 
before and after the coming of the evangelist, and efforts were made 
to convince the people that the Georgian would come to the city only 
for the purpose of stirring up strife and overthrowing the policy of 
the best mayor the city ever had. 

But with the Bee as the sole defender of the evangelist, his case 
went before the people of the city. The people read the adverse 
criticisms of the papers, but did not make up their minds finally, and 
reserved their judgment until the coming of Mr. Jones, when they 
could see and hear for themselves. 

(280) 



Sam P. Jonss. 281 

Upon his arrival in Toledo Mr. Jones was met by the committee 
that had invited him. He was put in possession of facts regarding 
the moral and political status of affairs, and with this information 
he went forward to the attack single-handed. 

At the opening service, which was held in the Armory Hall, there 
were more than five thousand eager people to hear the evangelist. 
Every seat in the building was taken, and hundreds were turned 
away, unable to find standing-room. 

The arrangements for the meetings, which were in the hands of 
a committee, were, perhaps, the most complete and satisfactory that 
Mr. Jones. had ever experienced. Every detail had been carefully 
looked after by the committee, which had worked in harmony from 
the beginning, and the effect of united action was apparent. Mr. 
Jones often remarked that the arrangements made for the meetings 
at Toledo were splendid, and that he had seldom seen such harmony 
among the members of a committee. 

He was introduced by Mayor Samuel M. Jones, who was given 
a rousing ovation when he appeared upon the platform with 
his wife. It was readily seen that the mayor was extremely 
popular with the people, and that his policy was generally approved. 
This did not seem to disturb the evangelist, however, for he had 
found it his duty many times before to attack officials in high places 
and officers of great popularity when he felt that their policy was 
wrong, or that they were not doing their duty. The two Sams were 
loudly applauded as they shook hands upon the platform in view of 
the people. 

In his introduction the mayor said in part : That it had been his 
privilege to perform many pleasant duties, but none which had ever 
put more sunshine into his heart. He was delighted to see before him 
such a vast audience, as it was an indication that a great many Tole- 
doans were interested in the welfare of men's souls — interested in a 
gospel that would put sunshine into all hearts. Many men, he said, 
were misunderstood, but there was always the comforting assurance 
that Christ while on earth was misunderstood. Things as they exist 
are awfully wrong, but he had faith in Jesus Christ, and with that 



282 Sam P. Jones. 

faith fixed in the hearts of men, everything would be righted after 
awhile." In conclusion he said : 

"It gives me pleasure to introduce to you Rev. Sam P. Jones, and 
there are other Joneses. This Jones is my fellow worker." 

• After the mayor took his seat, Mr. Jones arose and proceeded im- 
mediately with his sermon. The first sermon was along serious 
lines, and he did not indulge in the sensational attacks on sin and 
sinful things that he usually employed at the beginning of a meet- 
ing. For more than a week Mr. Jones kept up this seriousness, to 
the evident disappointment of some of the people who had come to 
hear him scalp some of the city officials, and others who were con- 
sidered evil-doers. 

It was after the first week of the meeting that Mr. Jones, in 
preaching to men, opened his guns and fired into the city officials. 
Mr. Jones never preached with more power, nor with more fearless 
onslaughts upon the sins of men and public officials who would al- 
low the laws of the land to be broken every day with no apparent 
effort to enforce them. , 

"You have got an apostle in town," said Mr. Jones, "who can do 
everything by love ; he works the Golden Rule on everything. My ! 
My! if love would have regulated this town, it would have taken 
wings long ago, and would have flown away. Is it love that runs 
seven hundred saloons wide open seven days in the week, forty shame- 
less houses all night long, and one hundred and fifty gambling-hells 
that carry your old men and your young men down to. hell? You 
go down the street to that white-aproned, bull-necked saloon-keeper 
and say, 'Ji m > I am going to love you to death/ 'Go on,' he will 
say, 'love as long as you please, but don't shut me up.' If the devil 
were mayor of this town, he would not change a single thing. The 
devil would not change your chief of police either. If I could not 
find a mayor and police commissioner who would enforce the law 
and close these resorts of hell on the Sabbath I would take to the 
woods on election day. The owners of the saloons, the gambling- 
houses, and unclean resorts of tf/is city are worse than mad dogs, 
and would any man in this house attempt to use the Golden Rule on 
such an animal? I stand for something in my town, and when a 



Sam P. Jones. 283 

mad dog gets loose in the streets of my place I use a double-barreled 
shotgun on him. I have got something above my eyes, neighbor. 
I have got too much sense to use love on a rabid beast." 

The sermon was one of the most powerful that the evangelist had 
preached, and its effect upon his audience was unmistakable. Mr. 
Jones won a great victory for municipal reform in Toledo, and 
changed the moral atmosphere of the city. 

In Toledo, perhaps one of the largest woman's meeting ever held 
was conducted by Mr. Jones. Despite the fearful state of the 
weather, the ladies of the city turned out in enormous crowds. They 
braved the storm of snow and rain, and waded through the mud and 
slush and filled to everflowing the great Armory Hall. Mr. Jones 
preached to them concerning the influence that they could and 
should exert over the men in the coming election for mayor. He 
said that every woman had an influence for good or evil over some 
man, and that if the women of Toledo would exercise that influence 
properly they would be able to carry the city for God and right. 
There were women from every walk in life present at the meeting, 
and the impression made upon them by Mr. Jones was marked. 

The meetings at Toledo lasted for three weeks, and with each 
day the services became more productive of good results. Thou- 
sands of people were converted, and many thousands were at the 
altar during the meetings, asking for the prayers of the Christian 
people. 

At the close of the meetings Mr. Jones was extended a warm invi- 
tation to return to the city at any time he could do so, and was as- 
sured of the fact that his work had accomplished inestimable good 
for the people of Toledo. Those people who had abused him and 
questioned his motives before he came to the city had turned com- 
pletely around and were loud in their praises of his work. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



The Work in the South. 

I have spoken of the great meetings in Memphis, Nashville, St. 
Joseph and St. Louis, which gave Mr. Jones a national reputation. 
I have given lengthy accounts of the meetings in Cincinnati, Chicago, 
Baltimore, Toronto and Boston, which established him for all time 
as the world's greatest and most unique evangelist. The question 
was never raised after these great meetings as to his ability, power 
and marvelous personality. 

The great meetings in the central West, including Indianapolis, 
St. Paul, Minneapolis, Omaha and Kansas City and other places 
stirred up that portion of the United States, and won for him, a great 
place in the hearts of the people of the central West. His work on 
the Pacific coast including meetings at Los Angeles, Sacramento and 
San Francisco made him a well-known and prominent factor on the 
Pacific coast and in the extreme West and Northwest. 

While he had conducted marvelous meetings in his early days in 
most of the Southern States, which had made his name a household 
word, it was about the year 1900 when he refused to accept calls 
from all parts of the United States to devote the best part of his life 
to the people of the Southland, who were so dear to his heart, among 
whom he had been born and reared. 

To begin and give a detailed description of these great meetings, 
held in the leading cities of all the Southern States would make a 
volume as large as the present one. To recite the hundreds and al- 
most thousands of remarkable incidents and marvelous conversions 
to Christianity would be more thrilling than those that we have al- 
ready given, which are certain to furnish an insight into his marvel- 
ous character and ability. Those who heard him in his early days, 
and who followed his great triumphs throughout the other portions 

(284) 



Sam P. Jonss. 285 

of the United States, declared that he never preached with more 
earnestness, mellowness and power than he did in these great South- 
ern campaigns. He had reached the zenith of his glory and power, 
and these years, by the marvelous results that followed him wherever 
he went, demonstrated the fact that he held his own in the hearts 
and the affection of the people, and that he was approved of God. 
The upbuilding of the churches, the moral reformation of the people, 
the awakening of sentiment against the liquor traffic, and all the sins 
that go with manufacturing, selling and drinking the accursed stuff, 
can only be estimated by the fact that the entire South was thrown 
into a great revival of righteousness, and that the sentiment through- 
out the Southern States against the liquor traffic was so intensified 
that prohibition followed many of his meetings, and that the South 
at large has placed its endorsement upon his work in the great tem- 
perance movement that seems destined to rid our fair Southland of 
open saloons. He had so impressed himself upon the people that the 
mere announcement that he would lecture or preach would bring 
out audiences that tested the seating capacity of the largest audito- 
riums in the different cities of this section. 

In Mississippi he held fifteen meetings, including Jackson, Green- 
ville, Columbus, Vicksburg, West Point, Aberdeen and Meridian. 
At some of these places large tents were used, and at others, large 
warehouses, cotton-sheds and wooden tabernacles were arranged es- 
pecially for his meetings. Special trains were run from all parts of 
the State. The people came in private conveyances for twenty-five 
miles, and the audiences numbered from five to ten thousand. 
The immense crowds bewildered the people of the towns and cities 
in which he preached, and it was difficult to find lodging and enter- 
tainment for the crowds that the excursions brought in. 

At the close of his great meeting at West Point, Mr. Jones de- 
sired to leave on one of the special trains, but the coaches, aisles, 
platform and steps were crowded so that he could not get standing- 
room, and the depot agent made arrangements with the engineer 
to give him a seat in the engine with him, and ride there until the 
cars were sufficiently emptied for him to find a seat. 

In one of the great meetings in Mississippi an editor who became 



286 Sam P. Jones. 

enraged at Mr. Jones and came to the meeting intoxicated started 
down the aisle with a pistol in his hand to shoot Mr. Jones, but was 
overtaken by an officer and put in prison. When he sobered up he 
became penitent and Mr. Jones had him released from jail and he 
came back into the meeting and was happily converted. 

At Vicksburg the great tent blew down in a rainstorm, but a 
number of the most wicked men in the city, who had fought his 
coming had gotten interested .in Mr. Jones's sermons, assisted in 
putting up the tent, and some of them were converts of the meeting. 
On the way to the tent one night he noticed a man following him 
closely. After turning several corners, Mr. Jones stopped and said : 
"Are you following me ?" The man replied : "I am." "Then," said 
Mr. Jones, "for what purpose?" The man shook with emotion as the 
tears came to his eyes, and said : "I have been trying to get up cour- 
age to speak to you and ask you to pray for me ; my mother attend- 
ed your meetings at Jackson and on her dying bed she made me 
promise that if you ever came within fifty miles of my home I would 
hear you preach. In fulfillment of that promise, I have come fifty 
miles that I might hear you. I am a very wicked man, but I am 
here to seek religion, and I want you to pray for me." Mr. Jones 
preached to him there, and in the great meeting that night he was 
converted. 

In another town a drummer walked up and registered, but 
when the clerk informed him that he could not get a room, he 
said, "What does this mean?" The clerk replied, "Sam Jones is in 
town, and thousands of people are attending his meetings, and the 
hotel is crowded." The drummer said: "You don't tell me that this 
crowd is here to hear Sam Jones?" "Yes, sir," replied the hotel- 
keeper. "Well," said the drummer, "I can understand why a man 
would go to hear a blackguard like Sam Jones, but I can not under- 
stand why a decent man would take his wife to hear him." A sin- 
ner who had come about thirty or forty miles, and brought his wife 
to the meeting, walked up to the drummer and struck him in the 
face with his fist, and knocked him down. When the drummer re- 
covered, he said, "What do you mean?" The man replied: "I just 
wanted to show you how a decent man could take his wife to hear 



Sam P. Jonss. 287 

Sam Jones ; I want to teach you a lesson. " The next morning the 
man with his right hand in a bandage came to the meeting and gave 
his heart to God. 

In Greenville, at the close of one of his services, the wives of 
three prominent business men said : "Brother Jones, we have com- 
bined together to pray for our unsaved husbands, and we want you 
to join us." Mr. Jones replied : "Where two or three agree as touch- 
ing one thing, it shall be done. We will pray with you and expect 
their conversions." All three of the men were happily converted, 
and became most earnest Christians. 

He requested all the business men to close for the day services. 
With the exception of two saloons, every business-house in the town 
was closed. One of these saloon-keepers stood in front of his saloon 
and cursed Mr. Jones for wanting him to close his saloon while he 
was abusing his business. Mr. Jones heard about it, and said in 
public : "I meant no harm by this invitation ; it was only my inter- 
est in these men that led me to make the request, but mark my word, 
you will see doors closed with black crepe on them before many 
days." A few weeks later a copy of the Greenville Delta was sent 
Mr. Jones, with a paragraph marked, in which it stated that that 
saloon-keeper had dropped dead at his saloon door, just as he went 
to open it one morning. Those who read his words and yielded to 
his appeals were blessed of God, while some who hardened their 
hearts and resisted the calls of mercy, died horrible deaths, speaking 
God's approval and endorsement of the man who had warned them 
so faithfully. 

At Meridian some very remarkable things happened under 
his ministry. Some of the wicked men of the city were cursing and 
gambling on Mr. Jones, and went down together to see who was the 
winner, which resulted in two of them coming forward for prayers 
at the close of the sermon. They were happily converted later on in 
the meeting, and became prominent members of the church. 

The meeting changed the history of the city, and a fight had be- 
gun on the saloon business that never stopped until every saloon in 
the city was closed. 



288 Sam P. Jones. 

Mr. L. P. Brown, a prominent citizen, and a very earnest Chris- 
tian of that city, in a personal, says : 

"Meridian, where I have lived for thirty-eight years, with a popu- 
lation of twenty-seven thousand souls, has stood for fifteen years 
without a barroom, brothel, or licensed liquor in any form — a monu- 
ment of what God can and does and will do — and at the same time 
memory takes me back to the help given us by Brother Jones. He 
spared not the curse of drink, and at the same time won the drinker 
and the seller. Around thousands of family altars his name is hon- 
ored for his work's sake. In our household his face not only hangs 
from several walls, but around our hearts the memory of his pres- 
ence and his life-work are in daily and hourly evidence." 

The great meetings in Mississippi were the leading factors in 
almost freeing that State from the open saloons. 

In his native State, meetings were held in Macon, Rome, Augusta, 
Marietta, Columbus, Waycross, Brunswick, Covington, Savannah, 
Atlanta, and many other towns. In all, he conducted meetings in 
more than fifty of the prominent towns and cities in Georgia. It is 
difficult to say which was the most powerful in immediate results, 
but perhaps Savannah and Atlanta were the scenes of his greatest 
work. It was in Georgia where he came into closest touch with the 
railroad men. 

At Macon he was thrown with them in the shops, and visited and 
prayed with them in their homes. Here began his great interest and 
love for railroad men. In that city he learned of their generosity 
and liberality while holding revival services. The railroad men 
came up and extended him cordial invitations to visit them. In their 
homes he found their wives and loving little children, and seeing how 
they were attached to one another, his love grew stronger for 
them the longer he lived. Instead of finding them the rough, un- 
couth men that they had been pictured, he found many of them cul- 
tured, refined and gentle. Some of their wives were the most de- 
voted Christians. 

Wherever he went he usually held a special meeting for them in 
the railroad shops, and no class of men were greater admirers of him 
than the noble railroad men throughout the South. 




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Sam P. Jones. 289 

In Atlanta a meeting was held for them in the Western and 
Atlantic shops. This brought together a great crowd, including all 
the employees of the company. Mr. Charlie Tillman sang "The 
Railroad Song," and just before Mr. Jones arose to speak, Col. W. 
M. Bray stepped to the front and said : "Mr. Jones, I have been re- 
quested by Mr. Lamar Collier, and the representative and substan- 
tial railroad men of Atlanta, to perform a service for the operators 
of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. I am here in obedience to 
this request, as I never fail to perform a duty when I can. I am 
commissioned through him, and in behalf of these railroad men, to 
present you a testimonial of their appreciation of your advocacy of 
their right. This testimonial is not like most testimonials, of little 
worth ; but of priceless value. I present you in their name a book 
that is the Book of books. I believe that its principles will always 
be presented intelligently and fearlessly by the recipient. Here is 
a handsome Oxford Bible, beautifully bound, from the men of the 
Western and Atlantic Railroad. This is a testimonial of their great 
regard and love for you." 

Mr. Jones took the Bible, and said : "Little did I think a moment 
ago, when I found that I had left my Bible at my room, that I would 
be supplied with one in this way. I appreciate the gift. I have al- 
ways found the railroad men noble in their homes, and regarded 
them as a big-hearted and brave set of men. I shall leave this beau- 
tiful Bible as an heirloom to my youngest child. Now," said he, "I 
will preach from this book, taking as my text these words : 'But 
thou hast kept the good wine until now.' ' Great power attended 
this meeting, and hundreds of them arose at the close and dedicated 
their lives to God. 

Mr. Jones visited all the schools and spoke to the children, the 
young men and women of the colleges, and held many precious 
services with them. Every conceivable place was utilized for preach- 
ing services. He spoke at the recorder's court- room, at the police 
headquarters, and before every class of people brought there, he 
preached with such tenderness and power that the officers and crimi- 
nals gave him their hands as an expression of their desire to lead a 
Christian life. 



290 Sam P. Jones. , 

One of the most unique services was held on the roof of the Equit- 
able building, at that time one of the tallest buildings in the city. 
It was at high noon, when the spring sun sent its rays through a. 
rift in the threatening clouds. Nine hundred people, by actual county 
by a man standing at the little door opening on the roof, came to 
hear him preach. Half of the occupants of the Equitable building 
were there. They stood on the tar and gravel and looked into the 
earnest face of the revivalist, while down from the streets came the 
ceaseless murmur of traffic and clamor of wagons, horses' hoofs, 
-and buzzing of trolleys. Behind and around him stretched the 
amphitheater of the blue Piedmont hills, while in the distance were 
the colleges resting on the eminences which gird the city. The 
smoke arose from a hundred furnaces and chimneys, and rolled over 
the high pulpit, while the steeples of the churches were in plain view. 
He took for his text Mark 8 136 : "What shall it profit a man if he 
shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul." He concluded 
his sermon by asking all who would promise to lead better lives to 
hold up their hands, and hundreds of those on the roof responded. 

The meetings in Atlanta not only resulted in the conversions of 
thousands of souls, but started a wave of temperance and municipal- 
reforms, the fruits of which are seen to-day. The audiences in the 
great Moody Tabernacle ranged from eight to twenty thousand 
people. After the immense building was crowded part of the thou- 
sands were turned back. The meetings became instrumental in cre- 
ating sentiment against the open saloons, and other immoralities,, 
that made his work go down in history as the most powerful relig- 
ious services ever held in the State of Georgia. 

In Texas, meetings were held in Palestine, Tyler, Waco, Hous- 
ton, Fort Worth, Dallas, Galveston, San Antonio, and other 
places. Large wooden tabernacles were constructed that would seat 
from five to ten thousand people in many places, while in one or two 
cities immense cotton-warehouses were fitted up. It was after one of" 
his early meetings in Texas, at Palestine, where he had preached' 
against the open wickedness and loose municipal affairs, that he was 
attacked by the mayor of the city, which resulted in a fight. The 
moment that the mayor struck him, it flashed upon Mr. Jones's- 



Sam P. Jones. 291 

mind, "If I am going to preach as I do, and have such encounters 
as this, I must back up my ministry with physical courage. The 
eyes of the world, are upon me, and I must let the people know that 
in any sacrifice or danger, I am in dead earnest." While not wish- 
ing a fight, or taking any delight in such, he immediately wrested 
the cane from the mayor's hand, and gave him a genteel thrashing. 
The city showed its approval by calling a special meeting, and mak- 
ing the mayor resign, while the people of the United States ap- 
plauded his bravery. We give an account of this episode in a tele- 
gram that Mr. Jones sent home and to the Atlanta papers. Just 
before stepping upon the train, Mr. Jones sent the following tele- 
gram to his home, and the Atlanta papers : 

"Mrs. Sam P. Jones, Cartersville, Ga. : 

"The one-horse mayor of Palestine, Texas, tried to cane me at 
the train this morning. He hit me three times. I wrenched the cane 
from him, and wore him out. I am well. Not hurt. Will lecture 
to-night at LaGrange. 

"Sam P. Jones." 

The one sent to the Atlanta Constitution was as follows : 

"The one-gallus mayor of Palestine tried to cane your Uncle 
Jones this morning at the depot. I wrenched the cane from him 
and wore him out. I am a little disfigured, but still in the ring. I 
criticised his official career last November. It needed criticising. 

"Sam P. Jones." 

The trouble in Palestine originated in this way: In November, 
Mr. Jones had held evangelistic services there. He paid his usual 
respects to lukewarm church-members, easy-going preachers, gossip- 
ing men and women. All these classes took the messages with 
meekness and approval, but when he arraigned the mayor for not 
enforcing the law against the liquor business, he stirred up a great 
deal of resentment among the city officials. The mayor was absent 
at the time, but upon his return to the city was informed of what, 



292 Sam P. Jonss. 

Mr. Jones had said. He had very little to say at that time, but laid 
his plans to get even with Mr. Jones in the future. Mr. Jones then 
returned to the city for a lecture, and after repeating his utterances 
against the loose administration, he went back to his hotel and re- 
tired for the night. Next morning he went to> the station to take 
the nine o'clock train, when he was assaulted by the mayor. He im- 
mediately dropped his valise, and took the cane from the mayor and 
"wore him out." He left at once for his next appointment, and 
the indignation of Palestine was so aroused that the leading citizens 
called a special meeting, in which they asked the mayor to resign. 
The matter was telegraphed all over the United States, and from 
almost every paper came editorials approving of what Mr. Jones 
had done, and praising him for his manliness and fearlessness as a 
minister of the gospel. 

In the large cities — Dallas, Galveston, San Antonio, Houston, and 
Fort Worth — were some of the most marvelous meetings any man 
ever held. They came up to, if they did not surpass, many of the 
great meetings that won him national fame. However, it is im- 
possible to go into detail about these meetings. Words could not 
describe the wonderful scenes that took place in all these cities. It 
was the custom of Mr. Jones to preach to the colored people nearly 
everywhere he went, and perhaps in Houston one of the greatest 
meetings was held for the colored folks. - The immense audience 
filled the great tabernacle, and from the platform the sea of dark, 
earnest faces upturned was a sight long to be remembered. He talked 
to them in a very plain, practical way, creating wonderful enthusi- 
asm, and presenting the truths that they should know, in a way that 
the humblest and most ignorant colored person could understand. 
In speaking to them of politics, he said : "The Democrats and Re- 
publicans don't care anything about your vote, further than to help 
them into office — one thinks about as much of you as the other. The 
Democrats and Republicans just use you as a tool." In illustrating 
this truth, he said : "In Virginia there is a story told of General Ma- 
hone who, when he died, went to the gate of heaven, but St. Peter 
told him unless he was mounted he could not come in. The General 
went away from the gate of heaven, and found an old darkey, and 



Sam P. JonSS. 293 

said to him!, 'Unless you are mounted you can't get through the 
pearly gates/ and proposed that the old darkey get down on all- 
fours, and he would ride him in. The old darkey fell down upon his 
hands, and the General mounted him and rode him up to the gate of 
heaven. St. Peter said, 'Are you mounted?' 'Yes,' replied the 
General. 'Well,' said Peter, 'hitch your horse outside, and come in.' 
The General turned the old darkey aside and entered the gate. 
Now," said he, "that's just what the politicians do with you poor 
negroes." The truth so simply illustrated went home to their hearts, 
and the thousands of black men and women said, "That's so, boss ; 
now you'se talking." He then urged them to live sober lives, and to 
be true in their homes and look to the Lord Jesus Christ as their 
only hope to help now and hereafter. He was always a friend of 
the colored people, and gave thousands of dollars to them in build- 
ing their churches and schools. 

At a great mass-meeting held in Houston, he suggested that they 
organize a Law and Order League to fight the saloons. He asked 
for one hundred men to come up and give him their hand and to 
promise to meet at the tabernacle on the following Tuesday night 
to perfect the organization. Instead of one hundred coming, a 
thousand mien practically ran over each other in response to the call. 

In nearly every city in the State such organizations were perfected, 
and the saloon element and the corrupt municipal affairs were fought 
until the cities regulated the saloon business. Nearly everywhere 
through the South such movements followed his preaching. 

The most remarkable men's meetings that he ever held were 
throughout Texas. He frequently preached to as many as ten thou- 
sand men, and from five hundred to one thousand would come for- 
ward, promising to reform their lives and begin the Christian life. 
The influence of these great meetings went out into the neighboring 
towns and through the counties, and led other preachers to follow 
up the work, which resulted in thousands of conversions and cru- 
sades against the liquor traffic. It would be almost impossible to fol- 
low these influences and get any just estimate of the final results. 

In many of these cities he was instrumental in raising money to 
build Y. M. C. A.'s and churches, the collections frequently ag- 



294 Sam P. Jones. 

gregating from twenty to fifty thousand dollars. As a result of his 
work in Texas, the great "Lone Star State" was swept from one 
side to the other with the tidal wave of conviction to salvation and 
municipal reform. It will require eternity itself to furnish a correct 
estimate of his work in Texas. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



The Work in the South (Continued). 

In North Carolina he held meetings in the following cities : Win- 
ston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham, Wilmington, and Charlotte. A 
remarkable revival followed his ministry in Winston-Salem, Greens- 
boro, and Durham. The saloons were made to observe the 
laws in Durham, and were voted out in Winston and Greensboro. 
These were not only great moral movements, but resulted in a spir- 
itual awakening, which brought hundreds of the people into the 
different churches. 

At Charlotte one of the greatest men's meeting of his entire career 
was held. There were eight or ten thousand men within the taber- 
nacle. After he had preached one of his most searching sermons, 
strong men from the city and adjoining towns and country liter ally- 
ran over each other as they rushed to the altar with the tears stream- 
ing down their cheeks begging for mercy and help. A thousand or 
more gave their hearts to God. This wonderful manifestation; 
swept away all the prejudices of the most fastidious, and the meet- 
ing is spoken of in that city to-day as an epoch-making hour. 

The saddest incident connected with the men's meeting was that 
of a bright young man, perhaps in his twenty-sixth year, who was- 
conductor on the Atlanta and Charlotte Airline. At the close of 
Mr. Jones's sermon he walked down the aisle more than two-thirds 
of the way, and then suddenly turned and went back to his seat. It 
may have been the scoff of a companion, or the jeer of a friend that: 
turned him back. . The next morning he went down to the depot, 
and about eight o'clock he stepped on his train to leave the city. 
After he had run down the road a few miles he held his train to 
meet another passenger train, and there was a freight-box standing 
on the side-track, and when the passenger train backed against it he: 

(295) 



296 Sam P. Jonss. 

was standing just in the rear of it, was knocked down and the wheels 
ran over him from head to foot, and mashed the very watch in his 
pocket until it was as thin as a piece of tin. Scarcely had fifteen 
hours passed since the sermon until he was called into the presence 
of God. 

At Wilmington he held two great meetings. Rev. W. S. Creasy, 
D.D., pastor Grace M. E. Church, South, was instrumental in his 
going to Wilmington. The ministers of the other denominations 
were not at all in favor of his coming, and some were very hostile; 
however, Dr. Creasy, with a few of the ministers, and by the help 
of Christian laity, prepared for the great tabernacle movement. 

The announcement of the meeting brought forth a great many 
criticisms, which appeared in the Wilmington papers. These were 
mostly from the ministers. One prominent Presbyterian minister 
offered four reasons why he objected to the coming of Mr. Jones. 
One was, he lowered the dignity of the pulpit, and the other was, 
the danger of confusing the people as to a true revival. Another 
because of his deep appreciation of the ministry of the church, and 
the last one, as a conscientious Presbyterian he could not endorse a 
man who makes a point of caricaturing what, to him, was the most 
precious truths of the Bible. 

A prominent Episcopal rector said he could not see that any really 
spiritual good could possibly be gained by this community from any 
preaching by Mr. Jones. 

A prominent Baptist preacher fought his coming from the start, 
and wrote a lengthy article to a religious paper, giving his reason 
for his position, claiming that Mr. Jones's wit was exceedingly 
coarse, his humor low and vulgar, unbecoming a Christian minister 
in any circle, and, in his judgment, a gross and grievous desecration 
of the pulpit. 

There were other criticisms offered by some of the less prominent 
ministers of the different denominations. It seemed that there had 
been formed an alliance in Wilmington with the society element, 
gamblers and liquor-dealers that made the ministers fear his coming. 
At any rate, the society people, gamblers, liquor-dealers, and people 



Sam P. Jones. 297 

of that class, were in the heartiest sympathy with the criticisms ex- 
pressed by these ministers, and heartily endorsed all of them. 

When Mr. Jones arrived in Wilmington he began at once to over- 
come the opposition, and it wasn't long until these same ministers 
were attending his services and cooperating heartily with him in 
the salvation of the lost. His preaching against the worldliness and 
wickedness of the society people, and his arraignment of the evils 
of the liquor traffic wrought great reformation in the lives of hun- 
dreds, and created a mighty sentiment against the liquor business. 
For ten days he preached, with thousands attending his ministry, 
and one of the greatest meetings held in North Carolina was that in 
Wilmington. In view of the opposition and obstacles that he over- 
came, perhaps it was one of the mightiest works of his life. 

In Virginia he visited Roanoke, Danville, Lynchburg, and Rich- 
mond. In Danville, where an immense auditorium was erected and 
named "The Sam Jones Tabernacle," he completely revolutionized 
the life of the people. One of the most notable results of that meet- 
ing was the consecration and call to the ministry of Mr. James E. 
Schoolfield, a prominent hardware merchant and cotton manufac- 
turer. He immediately entered upon the work of the ministry as an 
evangelist and preached all over the South, paying his own expenses, 
and became one of the most successful soul-winners of his day. He 
attributed his change and call to the ministry to Mr. Jones. A few 
years ago he laid down his armor and preceded Mr. Jones to his 
heavenly reward. 

This is just one instance of the thousands of men who were con- 
verted and called to the ministry, and afterwards entered the pas- 
torate and evangelistic field to become honored and accredited work- 
ers in the kingdom of God. Perhaps more preachers have entered 
the work of the ministry through Mr. Jones's preaching than any 
other man living or dead. . 

Great results followed his preaching in Lynchburg and Norfolk. 
In Richmond a large tabernacle was erected on Franklin street, al- 
most opposite the Richmond College, with a seating capacity of 
eleven thousand. As the tabernacle was located in the extreme 
western part of the city, it was difficult for the people to attend, but 
they came in carriages, on the street-cars, trains, and afoot, until the 



298 Sam P. Jones. 

great building would not accommodate them. The work was diffi- 
cult at first, but in his men's meeting one Sabbath afternoon when 
twelve thousand men had been seated and three thousand turned 
away, he preached that masterful sermon, "Conscience, Record, 
and God." The power of the Holy Spirit came upon him, and the 
people, and at the close of the meeting the men were standing en 
. masse in their endorsement of his work, and pledging themselves 
to be faithful Christians. As he looked down upon the scene of that 
victory, he said, turning to those who had been slow to believe, 
"What do you think of that ? Thanl< God for a scene in Richmond 
like this." From that day the tide had turned, and Richmond was in 
repentance and seeking salvation. 

In Tennessee, where he had held so many meetings, he revisited 
Jackson, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville. At 
all these places great meetings followed, and in Nashville he con- 
tinued his ministry in the great auditorium that he had inspired and 
raised the money, for, visiting the capital city each successive year, 
and sometimes twice during the year, for eighteen meetings. The 
cause of temperance in Tennessee was always very close to his heart, 
and in these last meetings he preached and pleaded for the close of 
the saloons and general prohibition, until the State now, with the 
exception of four or five of the leading cities, has local option. If 
the day comes, and the signs point that way, when the State is en- 
tirely free from saloons, at the judgment bar of God Mr. Jones will 
receive much of the reward for the faithful and earnest work which 
closed the saloons. 

In Kentucky meetings were held at Paducah, Hopkins ville, 
Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Louisville, and many other places. 
Large tabernacles were erected in these cities for the meetings. 

At Bowling Green the most wonderful meeting ever held in Ken- 
tucky was under his ministry. Here the city was aroused on the 
subject of temperance to such an extent that they closed all the bar- 
rooms. Perhaps the hottest fight he ever had for the cause of tem- 
perance was during his meetings in Kentucky. At Bowling Green 
a hundred and twenty-five of the employees of the Louisville and 
Nashville Railroad wrote out a pledge that they would drink and 
curse and carouse no more. 



'Do Everything You Can and Leave the Rest to God." — Sam Jones. 



Bowling GrEEn, Ky,, April 10, 1893. 

Be it Known by all Men, That we, whose names are hereunto subscribed, 
being employees of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, and resi- 
dents and citizens of Bowling Green, Ky., having seen and felt and realized 
the sad effects of intemperance among our citizens and its fatal results to rail- 
road men in particular, we do hereby agree and covenant with each other not 
to enter a saloon in Bowling Green, or anywhere else, or enter a barroom 
of any hotel or restaurant in said city, or anywhere else, under any circum- 
stances, except absolute necessity requires our entrance, or we receive posi- 
tive information that a person is on the inside whose name appears upon 
this list. 

We further agree that, if at any time we find it impossible to keep this, 
we will get the consent of five (5) members of this agreement and have our 
name erased from this list before we enter a saloon door. We further agree 
that should we break or violate this agreement that we hereby consent 
and agree that each remaining member of this agreement be furnished a 
"card" bearing our name and the date of violation, and that it be "known 
and said of us that we have sworn falsely and are not worthy of confidence 
in any business or social relation or transaction. 



ENGINEERS. 

C. M. Moore 
A. M. Freeman 
John C. Crofton 
R E. Hockersmith 
C. P. Bailey 
J. E. Dixon 
W. F. Porter 
W. E. Blackwell 
J. W. Alsup 
W. C. Brigham 
W. H. Hawkins 
F. Mulbarger 
Sam Vann 
W. H. Hockersmith 
Wm. Wolfenberger 
John Keogh 
W. H. Campbell 
J H. Penwick 
Dock Dean 
S. A. Gilson 
Ed Satterwhite 

FLREMEN. 

T. H. Glenn 
M. C. Stage 
J H. Compton 
W. D. Perry 
Wm. Tabor 
H. Porter 
J. W. Neal 
Frank Porter 



John Albert Freeman 

F. P. L,ooney 
R. C. Johnson 
S. P. Price 

C. R. Smith 
B I. Wallace 
W. A. Stephens 
W. B. Perkins 

A. H. Cleveland 
J. D Jesse 

S. J. Everett 
Mike Rogers 
W. H. B. Rue 

CONDUCTORS. 

Randall Allen 

J. L- Hockersmith 

G. F. Cole 
H. M. Cole 
C. E. Staton 
C C. Medley 
W. D Haworth 
It. B. Bennett 
W. C. Haight 
John C. Willett 
J. W. Vick 

B. V. Saulisbury 

BRAKEMEN. 

E. B Williams 

J. M. Burton 

S. A. Douglas 96a 



E. W. Hunt 
R. L Beck 

B. S. Hampton 
W. B Faxon 
Ben Lane 
Frane Hogwood 
J. J. Bracken 

K, Webster 
W. J. Lewis 
W. S. Taylor 

C. M. Huffines 

C. E- Locke 
Ira Ford 

W. A. Cassady 
W. T. Clark 
J. E. Greathouse 
P. H. Warren 
G. A. Knox 

D. Satterfield 
Albert L» Crook 
W. J. Wyatt 

J. R. Carter 
I,. A. Ritter 



FLAGMEN. 

W. D. Buckberry 
A. Dalton 

HOSTLERS. 

H. L Funk 
R. F. Bracken 



CAR REPAIRERS. 

Henry Hardwick 
Ewing Morgan 
J W. Clay pool 
W. F. Hawkins 
Chas. B. Gann 

CARPENTERS. 

John Starr 

J. Tom Doores 

John Johnson 

E. S. Baird 
John W Doolin 
Jerry Thomas 
H M. Mitchell 

MACHINISTS. 

John M. Hill 
James Hamby 

F. M. Roberts 
James Smith 
Chas. McMillon 

CALLERS. 

J. W. Burch 

M. B. Wolfenberger 

SWITCHMEN. 

John Glenn 
W. W. Evans 



NAMES AND OCCUPATIONS. 



J. H. Flowers, Baargage Master. 

F. F. Baughman, Postal Clerk. 

J. A. Mitchell, Local Attorney. 

R. Moran, Master Mechanic. 

P. J. Griffin, Baggage Master. 

Thos. W. Jenkins, Express Messenger. 



G. W. Thompson, General Agent. 
J. C Follis, Station Baggage Agent. 
H. L- Parks, Oil Clerk. 
C. H. Allen, Yard Master. 
W. H. Stewart, Painter. 
A. B. Gilson, News Agent. 



300 Sam P. Jonss. 

He preached in his own inimitable way, until the irreligious could 
stand the impact no longer, and the forces of Satan were utterly 
broken, and the rout was complete. It was a meting of wondrous 
power, the like of which was never witnessed before in that city, 
and may never be again. Men tried to brace themselves against the 
influence, but it was like an effort to breast the onrush of a cyclone, 
and they soon found themselves swept before the tide off their very 
feet and into the kingdom of God. One man said he would not hear 
Sam Jones, and though often importuned to go, persistently de- 
clined, and sometimes without much show of politeness. He con- 
tinued in this course, until the first Sunday morning of the revival, 
when, strange (?) to say, he went, and when the invitation was ex- 
tended, he came forward and made a complete surrender. 

A prominent business man had secured a large building for a 
saloon, and had gotten his license. He heard Mr. Jones preach, 
gave his heart to God, surrendered the building, cancelled his li- 
cense, and is to-day a prominent church-worker in that city. 

Rev. John W. Lewis, who was pastor of the largest Methodist 
church, writes : "It was amusing as well as serious, to hear his ar- 
raignment of sin and witness some of the attendant scenes. But 
it is rather of the character and lasting effects of his work that I 
would write. He reached all classes from the old monumental sin- 
ner to those of tender years, and when the ten days were over, it is 
safe to say that there had been one thousand conversions. The first 
Sunday, after the 'Amen' was pronounced, I received seventy-two 
into the church at one time, and more for several Sundays. Many 
of these were among the best citizens of the city, and some few were 
reclaimed from a drunkard's life. ' Other churches shared alike. 

"Did the work last? Yes, emphatically, yes. Only a short while 
ago I was talking with one of Sam Jones's converts at Hopkinsville 
(we had just heard of the evangelist's death), and he remarked: 
'If it had not been for him, the devil would have gotten me, sure/ 
He is now and has been since his conversion, a consistent and faith- 
ful member of the church. So it was at Bowling Green and Hop- 
kinsville. Many from both localities will rise up, in the last day, 
and call him blessed." 



Sam P. Jones. 301 

In Louisiana he held meetings at Monroe and New Orleans. 
He went to New Orleans on the invitation of the Evangelical Alli- 
ance, and arrangements were made for him to hold the services in 
the Washington Artillery Hall. His engagement lasted for a month. 
The principal fight in New Orleans was made against the Louisiana 
State Lottery. In a number of sermons he preached directly against 
this great crime and the spirit of gambling. The Morning Picayune 
g'ave him three columns the first day, two the second, one the third, 
and, when he made his greatest speech against the lottery, the paper 
refused to print a line of his notice in the city. He said : "You have 
been sowing these Louisiana State Lottery tickets for twenty years ; 
you have now a harvest of gambling in this city enough to make 
the devil himself tremble to look at. That lottery leads to every sort 
of gambling, opens the gates, the gap is down, and thousands of 
dollars that it is stealing from the United States and the Provinces 
of Canada, daily breaking up homes, and bringing sorrows to moth- 
ers is something appalling. I believe that that institution could pay 
a tax of forty thousand dollars a day, and still make money. It 
spreads its wings over this city, and takes the clothes off the backs 
of the children, robs the poor, and yet you sit down and say nothing 
about it. I know that there are powers that be, that can say 'hush, 
and stop,' and they do hush and stop some of you; but so help me 
God, there is not enough money, or men, or devils in hell to crush 
out the honest sentiment that leaps from my heart and conscience. 
If I were a member of the Louisiana State Legislature, I would vote 
against that contemptible scheme for fear that somebody would say 
if I did not that I had been bought by it. , 

"A man who will play 'seven-up' or 'buck a faro-bank' is a gen- 
tleman and a scholar and a Christian beside a fellow that will sit 
down and 'buck' against the Louisiana State Lottery. I hit you that 
time — I could see you wince. You gamble on anything in this city, 
from a million-dollar wheat or a cotton deal down to a cigarette. 
When will New Orleans wake up? Georgia and Missouri have 
passed laws against the lottery, and said it is a criminal offense. 
The government will not allow letters to go through the mail, if 
they know it, and old New Orleans remains absolutely quiet, and 



302 Sam P. Jones. 

» 

the balance of the Union is standing up and slapping you in the face. 
I would have enough pride to go and straighten myself out before 
the other States of this Union." 

The crusade against the open wickedness of New Orleans con- 
tinued, while the audiences grew day and night, until there was the 
greatest revival in the history of the town. No other meeting ever 
took such hold upon the city. All the churches were greatly 
strengthened, and many hundred people were brought to the Sa- 
vior. The stalwart blows given the Louisiana State Lottery were 
the beginning of the fight which finally resulted in the infamous 
scheme to swindle the people being swept from the face of the earth. 

In Alabama he preached in Selma, Mobile, Montgomery, and Bir- 
mingham. The same results followed in all these meetings, and in 
the last few days of the work in Birmingham he saw more than a 
thousand souls brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

After the arduous labors throughout these Southern States, Mr. 
Jones's health completely broke down, and for several years he had 
to rest from evangelistic labors. The best physicians in the land 
despaired of his life, and, as he expressed it in private and in public, 
while suffering so intensely, "I am a dying man." Frequently he 
would have to take his seat while preaching, and would become com- 
pletely exhausted and have to cancel his meetings. But he could 
not be idle. Believing that the lecture platform afforded him a great 
opportunity for doing good, and as the speaking was relieved of the 
close tension of revival work, he went all over the South lecturing, 
and stirring up the people again. His lectures were made up to a 
great extent of the reformed element of his preaching. In this way 
he continued to get the gospel before the thousands. It is doubtful 
whether he ever lectured without pungent thrusts at the liquor traf- 
fic. Letters received by him, and in my possession, and personal 
experiences related to him, which he told me of, attest the fact that 
hundreds were led to change their lives during the years when he' 
devoted much time to the lecture field. His lectures while they en- 
tertained, always contained good and wholesome truths, which in- 
spired men to renounce their evil ways and be better husbands and 



Sam P. Jonss. 303 

sons. His health was regained, and he took every opportunity for 
■evangelistic work during the closing years of his life. 

In his last great tabernacle meeting, the citizens of Cartersville 
•say they never heard him preach with such earnestness and power. 
This was the second greatest meeting of the work at the tabernacle. 
The last sermon he preached in the meeting was before an audience 
that filled the building, and stood within the sound of his voice, that 
numbered fifteen thousand or more. His text was taken from Phil-. 
lipians, third chapter, eighth verse : "I count all things but loss for 
the excellency of the gospel of Christ Jesus my Lord." The people 
will never forget the divine presence that pervaded the assembly, 
and the sighs and groans that were heard while he made his last 
plea for temperance, and uttered his most fearful denunciations of 
the liquor traffic. Following the tears and sobs he spoke to them 
of the triumphs of faith, and of the experiences that he had been 
going through, and the great audience shouted praises to the great 
Consoler and Comforter of bereaved and broken hearts. 

He went immediately to Oklahoma City, turning aside a hundred 
other calls to create a sentiment for temperance, reformation and 
.godly living in the flourishing city of the new State. In a large un- 
finished department store he preached day and night to the throngs, 
with every odd against him, yet never murmuring or complaining, 
until the last men's meeting, when he preached to the immense 
audience of fathers, husbands, and sons, the most powerful sermon 
that I ever heard him deliver. That great men's meeting resulted 
in several thousand men coming to the front and promising him to 
meet him in heaven. 

The last night he preached in the city, it was on " Sudden Death," 
that fearful message from the twenty-ninth chapter of Proverbs, 
first verse : "He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall 
suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy." 

In speaking of how he would like to die, if it should be God's 
will, he said : 

"I don't know where or when or how I will die. I may fall in 
the pulpit; I can't tell. I may die away from home; I can't tell. 
But this I say to you : If God will answer my prayer in this and give 



304 Sam P. Jones. 

me the choice of my heart, I would come home some day, worn out 
and tired, and lay quietly down diseased and sick, upon the bed in 
the family room, and there I would linger for a week or ten days 
under the kind ministration of my wife and children ; I would look 
upon and enjoy their sympathy and ministrations, and as the day 
drew nigh that I should bid them good-by, I would talk to my wife 
and talk to each child ; I would gather them about me daily, encour- 
age them to love God and live for God, and get home to heaven, 
and on and on until the last evening came, I would take my children, 
beginning at the oldest, I would gather them about me and say my 
parting words ; and then, when the doctors had turned their backs 
upon me and said that my case had swung beyond where materia 
medica reaches, I would spend my last moments talking to her who 
has been such a friend to me and who has helped me in all my life. 
And then, when the last moments came, I would wade down gently 
into the river of death, and when the river should come up to my 
shoulders I would reach back and kiss my wife and children good- 
by, and go home to God as happy as any schoolboy ever went home 
from school. " 

At the close of the personal reference the great audience was sub- 
dued, and every eye bedewd with tears, and then as if looking into 
the future, and seeing something that was hidden to all of us 
he said in the most pathetic and pitiful tone, "Men of Oklahoma 
City, look out, before my voice has died out in your ears, there will 
be deaths following this meeting that will shock this city and State, 
and maybe this nation. " 

The next day, feeling indisposed, he preached to the women, while 
his assistant took the evening service. The following morning he 
preached a sweet, tender sermon on "My grace is sufficient for thee." 
That day the heavy rains came, and the meeting was moved from 
the unfinished auditorium to the First Methodist church, where his 
assistant again preached. The papers had announced that the meet- 
ing would close Sunday afternoon. He remained in his room pray- 
ing until the hour passed for service, and the rain was coming down 
in torrents. He laid down upon the bed, fell asleep, and suddenly 
he awoke, and turning to me, said : "Mother, if the afternoon train 




MR. JONES PREACHING AT MEN'S MEETING, ATLANTA,:GA. 



Sam P. Jonbs. 305 

should be running late, we will go home, and not wait for the night 
train, as I want to get home for my birthday dinner." Going to 
the room of his chorister, Mr. E. O. Excell, he said: "Ex., as you 
are not well, I would go home; it's no use for you to stay any 
longer." Then going to the room of his assistant, Mr. Holcomh, 
he called him by his first name, saying : "We'll go home." We left 
on the afternoon-train, but before reaching our home in Cartersville, 
he had gone to his real home in heaven. 



11 i 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



His Ivii^ and Work at Cartkrsviux 

It was at Cartersville where Mr. Jones spent much of his time in 
his early days, where he practiced law, and led a dissipated life. It 
was while living in Cartersville that he became a Christian. Taking 
up the work of the regular ministry, the Conference sent him away 
from his home. During his life in the itinerancy, he was permitted 
to visit his home and people frequently, and when he began the work 
of the Decatur Orphanage, he moved to Social Circle, where he 
spent a year, then returned to Cartersville, and spent his entire 
Christian life among the people who knew him before he was saved. 

While in the early days his work at the Orphanage took him from 
home, and in later years his evangelistic meetings and lecture tours 
took him away from his people and friends nearly all the time ; never- 
theless, he always loved Cartersville, and the interests of the people 
were very close to his heart. He felt as he had led his dissipated 
days here, that he wanted to live his Christian life here, and, as 
far as possible, counteract any bad influence. He had held a number 
of bush-arbor meetings in the State and some in Mississippi and 
Alabama that had made quite an impression upon his own mind. 
The people in our county near Cassville, who were great admir- 
ers of Mr. Jones, were anxious for him to come and hold a meeting 
in their community. They told him they would build a bush arbor, 
and he .agreed to hold a service for them. The different churches 
came together and erected the arbor. 

Mr. Jones held a remarkable meeting there, which resulted in 
the conversion of some of the most influential men in the county. 
The entire neighborhood was wonderfully transformed. The Car- 
tersville people had heard of the meeting, and wanted to have a bush 
arbor meeting here. Mr. Jones believed that this would be the best 

(306) 



Sam P. Jonss. 307 

way to reach his former associates and win them for Christ. The 
citizens put up an immense bush arbor which would seat about four 
thousand people. Mr. Jones invited in a number of ministers to 
assist him in this first meeting. The pastors of the churches in the 
town cooperated heartily in the work. Rev. J. A. Bowen, whom he 
had assisted in a meeting at Corinth, Mississippi, came and labored 
with him in the services. This was in September, 1884. Great 
crowds from every direction came to this first meeting, and hun- 
dreds were converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Jones pleaded 
earnestly with the men, who had lived dissipated lives with him, 
and had the pleasure of seeing the last one of them saved. One of 
the converts was his brother Joe Jones, who entered the ministry, 
and became a most useful and effective evangelist. He died sud- 
denly in Mr. Jones's room in his presence. 

This was one of the greatest meetings ever held in Cartersville. 
There were over two hundred people who joined the different 
churches at the close of the meeting. At that time there were eigh- 
teen saloons in the town. He had made terrific assaults upon the 
traffic during the meeting and created a strong sentiment against the 
saloon. An election was called in December of 1884, and one of 
the hardest prohibition fights and the closest election occurred in 
Cartersville. There was a carpenter in here who would go around 
to one of the saloons every morning, and clean it out for his morn- 
ing drink of liquor. On the day of the election, he went around and 
did his work and had his drink. Some one said to him, "Are you 
going to vote for the saloon to-day?" He answered, "I am if I 
don't go to hell." Immediately he dropped dead in the saloon. 
When the votes had been cast and the ballots counted, the prohibi- 
tionists had carried the town by a majority of two. It is said that 
this old man's death influenced his son and others in not voting for 
liquor, and perhaps in the Providence of God carried much weight 
in freeing the town from the curses of the open saloon. 

The following year the people desired another meeting, and the 
great gospel tent that Mr. Jones had used in his meetings in Nash- 
ville was rented for the services. It was a mammoth tent and would 
accommodate six thousand people. The interest of the last meeting 



308 Sam P. Jones. 

had not waned, and the second great campaign began with earnest- 
ness and enthusiasm. Larger crowds were in attendance from the 
very first. Mr. Jones had the assistance of a number of prominent 
ministers of all denominations and preached himself with marked 
power. It was at this meeting that the Rev. Sam W. Small, who 
was the reporter at that time on the Atlanta Constitution, came up 
to get Mr. Jones's sermon for the paper. The subject of the sermon 
was, "Conscience, Record, and God." Mr. Small began to make a 
stenographic report of his utterances, when suddenly he lost sight 
of his mission, dropped his pencil and tablet, and was lost in what 
the preacher was saying. Instead of his taking down the sermon, the 
sermon had taken him down. When the invitation was extended, 
he made a profession and began to work in the meetings, and before 
it closed related his experience. While the saloons had been voted 
out, the blind tigers had gotten in their work. Mr. Jones preached 
against them with all the power of his being. 

On Friday night he spoke of the violation of the prohibition law. 
He said : "It's a shame for decent people to allow a few sneaking, 
skulking scoundrels, who were not fit to feed hogs, to perpetrate 
their crimes upon the people," and said : "I'll give you notice this 
infernal business must stop." On Saturday night the liquor vendors 
took dynamite to Mr. Jones's barn. Next morning there was found 
a fuse about two feet long that belonged to a dynamite cartridge. 
It had been fired and the explosion blew the floor out of the buggy- 
house, the heavy two by ten sleepers, right new, had been shattered, 
as if by a bolt of lightning. A new carriage and a buggy and a new 
wagon had been blown against the walls of the building. When the 
explosion occurred, the people in the tent on the hillside were awak- 
ened and saw the flash, as if a bolt of lightning had caused it. Mr. 
Jones and his family were awakened by the noise, but thought that 
it was an explosion of a torpedo somewhere in the neighborhood, 
as there was much blasting going on at the neighboring mines. The 
next morning the servants upon going to the barn, saw that it had 
been torn up with dynamite. Mr. Jones received a postal-card that 
morning saying : "If you don't shut your mouth, we will put it under 
your house, and blow you, your wife and your children into eter- 



Sam P. Jones. 309 

nity." He showed me the card, and said : "Wife, here's what they 
say — what shall we do about it?" We thought over the matter 
prayerfully, and decided, as he expressed it, "that it was just as 
near to heaven by the dynamite route as any," and he went to the 
lent and preached that Sunday morning as never before. 

The next year the citizens decided to make the annual meetings 
permanent, and at a conference Mr. Jones proposed to the people 
that if they would buy the land, that he would put up the tabernacle. 
The lot was purchased by public subscription, and Mr. Jones built 
the tabernacle with his own money, which stands in our city to-day. 

Year after year these great meetings continued. With the ex- 
ception of one year, they have been held annually since they were 
inaugurated. Mr. Jones has preached some of his best ser- 
mons here, and while he has invited the leading ministers from all 
denominations throughout the United States, the people have heard 
him with more appreciation than any one that he has ever brought 
to Cartersville. He has always used the occasion to create a senti- 
ment against the sale of liquor through blind-tigers, or drug-stores, 
or firms in Atlanta, and had succeeded in keeping the saloons out of 
Cartersville. They have always been seasons of great spiritual up- 
lift and rejoicing. 

His interest in Cartersville was always the keenest, and it mat- 
tered not where he was, if his service was needed he would leave 
his work and come home on the first train to fight the battles for the 
mothers and wives and daughters and citizens of his home town. 
One of the most remarkable incidents happened on July 14, 1890. 
Mr. Jones heard that some men had come from another city to make 
arrangements for the sale of liquor in Cartersville, through the 
•agency of "original package business." He immediately got aboard 
the train and left for Cartersville, and arrived on the first train. He 
called a meeting of the citizens to be held at the tabernacle, which 
convened at eight o'clock. An immense audience was present. The 
chairman explained the object of the meeting, and Mr. Jones made 
a speech and offered the following resolutions : 

"Whereas, The original package scheme is vexing many parts 
of our county, and 



310 Sam P. Jones. 

"Whereas, Carters ville is exposed to this scheme, as any other 
respectable town in the United States, and 

"Whereas, We are already threatened with the vexed nuisance; 
therefore, be it 

"Resolved, first, That we do not want whisky sold in our com- 
munity, or in Bartow county, in 'original' or any other sort of 
'packages.' 

"Secondly, It shall not be done. 

"Thirdly, We propose to concentrate the sentiment of our com- 
munity so that we will guarantee to make an 'original package' out 
of any contemptible scoundrel who attempts to run that game on us 
to the destruction of peace and good order of our sober, law-abiding 
community. 

"Fourthly, We pledge ourselves to carry out these resolutions." 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and those who had 
proposed to ship liquor into Cartersville took the first train and 
left the town. 

Thus he continued the fight against intemperance until the very 
last. 

Once we considered leaving here, that being almost fourteen years 
ago. Mr. Jones made up his mind to go to Marietta, Georgia, where 
we would be more conveniently located, and would give him several 
hours at home, on account of access to a greater number of trains 
going into Atlanta. After coming to this conclusion, we went to 
Marietta and purchased a beautiful residence, not making mention 
of this fact to any of our friends in Cartersville. After having made 
the purchase, we came home and talked the matter over with a few 
friends, and these friends were so much exercised over it that they 
told others, and soon it became known in Cartersville that we were 
going to leave our home here and go to live in Marietta, in the fu- 
ture. When this news was spread abroad, one of the most beautiful 
events of our lives happened. Its influence was so great that we 
could but feel its power, and although we had purchased this beau- 
tiful residence, we disposed of it. 

On the day of our decision, and when it became generally known, 
a little after dark, I answered the ring of our front door-bell. Mr. 



Sam P. Jones. 311 

Jones was visiting one of our married daughters who lived near by. 
The front yard and the veranda were full of people, and I could not 
imagine the cause of the crowd. About this time a noise at the 
backdoor caused some one to open it, and the backyard and veranda 
were full of colored people. 

Mr. Jones came in a few moments later. Several of our 
prominent citizens had appointed Col. Warren Aiken, one of our 
most gifted lawyers, as well as one of our personal friends, as 
spokesman for the white people of Cartersville. When he had spo- 
ken about twenty minutes telling us of the love and respect in which 
Mr. Jones was held in his home town, and urging us to give up the 
idea of moving away, the one appointed as spokesman for 
the negroes stepped forward and with a voice full of emotion said : 
"Mr. Jones, we colored people don't want you to move away from 
Cartersville. We feel that you were the instrument in God's hands 
in putting whisky out of our town, and we believe that if you go 
away from here it will come back again, that we will not be strong 
enough to keep it out, and we beg of you, Mr. Jones, not to go away. 
You have been our guide and comforter in times of sickness and 
distress and death, and we just don't want you to go away. But, 
Mr. Jones, if you are determined to go, although we don't want you 
to go, please don't take 'Miss Laura.' She is so good to us; she 
feeds us when we are hungry, clothes us when we are naked and 
prays with us when we are in sorrow, and we just can't let her and 
them children go. And, Mr. Jones, have you ever thought about it 
while you were off on God's business, not one time has 'Miss Laura' 
and the children been harmed? No one has come here to harm or 
hurt them, and now, Mr. Jones, if you must go, you go, but leave 
Miss Laura and the children." They protested against his going 
away from Cartersville. They plead with tender words of affection 
for us to remain here. They said they could not give him up. I 
could not in a full page of this volume give the arguments they ad- 
vanced, in thus urging him to stay. Time and again they repeated 
the words, "We can not let you go." This appeal melted our hearts 
and we decided to give up all thought of ever leaving Cartersville. 
In succeeding years he again and again alluded to the scenes of that 



312 Sam P. Jones. 

memorable night. This affectionate interest was like refreshing dew- 
to his spirit, when he was worn down with many cares and beset by 
worry and difficulties. No man ever had a greater number of friends 
and no man was ever more sincere in his friendships. 

Last September he held his last meeting in the tabernacle. He 
invited some of his closest friends and best workers from all parts of 
the United States. It was conceded by all to be the most spiritual 
and helpful revival that had been held since the first great bush-arbor 
meeting. Mr. Jones preached several times, and Sunday mornings 
he made his last address. He began by preaching a most thoughtful, 
elegant and refined sermon, but near the middle of his discourse he 
thought of the efforts being made to advertise liquor in Cartersville,. 
and ship it in from Atlanta, and he turned aside from his discourse 
and spoke more powerfully than ever against the evils of the liquor 
traffic, and of the infamous efforts to debauch the town with the jug: 
trade. The following account of his sermon appeared in the Geor- 
gian, and we reproduce it as his last utterances against whisky in 
his town : 

"A prominent liquor dealer of Atlanta, who caused the city of 
Cartersville to be placarded with posters, advertising their whiskies,, 
and which, especially at this time, are very offensive to me and the 
Christian people of this community. He handled the company with- 
out gloves, and many people who have often heard the evangelist 
handle evil-doers in a vigorous manner say that he far surpassed 
all his previous efforts, and that they had never before heard him 
administer so stinging a rebuke, nor attack any one with such blis- 
tering invective. 

" 'It is impossible/ said Mr. Jones, 'for one to get a word in an 
Atlanta daily newspaper that would hurt a whisky man by name, as- 
it would be to grow pineapples in frozen Alaska, or to get a bucket 
of water in hell. 

" 'To-day poor old Atlanta is trembling in the throes of a horrible 
race war. She is reaping what she has sown. The greed of her 
citizens has licensed the saloon, the hog-wallows of hell, and these 
dives have been dishing out to the low, black and white, the stuff 
that inflames their passions and causes the negroes to commit name- 



Sam P. Jone;s. 313 

less crimes. The morning papers tell us that a large number of 
negroes and several white people have been killed and wounded, and 
that our city of Atlanta, the pride of Georgia, is now all but under 
martial law, trembling with fear for the lives of its men, and fearful 
as to the fate of its women. The Sunday morning papers of Atlanta 
tell us in great headlines of the horrors that have taken place in At- 
lanta, but not one of them will say a word against the real root and 
cause of the trouble, nor will they permit any one else to strike 
through their columns, at their owners/ 

"Speaking of the advertisements that have been placed upon the 
boards in Cartersville, Mr. Jones said : 

" 'If I had been mayor of this town when they put those damn- 
able things on those billboards, I would have torn them off if it had 
involved the city of Cartersville in a lawsuit that would have ended 
in the Supreme Court of the United States. And yet this dirty 
scoundrel that has the insolence to come to this town with his in- 
fernal advertising, will pay the Atlanta newspapers for a full page 
of advertising, inviting the ladies of Atlanta down to drink his 
damnable stuff. I would as soon think of permitting my negro 
Charlie to commit a nameless crime and then come back to work 
for me, as to have him to go to his place at any time. 

" 'I can not understand how the men of Atlanta could let that 
insult to their women go unchallenged, and why they did not take 
the dirty devil out and cowhide him then and there. Women drink- 
ing at his store ! Think of it.' 

"Mr. Jones devoted most of his sermon to the denunciation of the 
liquor traffic and to the newspapers and politicians that were owned 
by the whisky interests, and when he had finished his sermon, he 
asked all who would endorse what he had said to get 'on your hind 
legs and say so.' 

"Amidst deafening applause the great audience arose and gave 
its endorsement to what Mr. Jones had said. 

"While the audience was standing, Mr. Jones turned to the re- 
porters, who were also standing, and said: 

" 'Now, Bud, you tell that firm that if it's going to get mad, it 
-will have to get mad with eight thousand people who have stood up 



314 Sam P. Jones. 

and said what I have said is true, and that they endorse every word 
of it/ " 

In many other ways, as he served the people of Cartersville by 
his labor of love, he won for himself a place in their hearts that time 
will only make larger and safer and warmer. 

A letter from a gentleman in San Francisco, to the postmaster of 
Cartersville, was turned over to the mayor of our city for reply. 
After Mayor Gilreath had replied to the letter, he wrote the follow- 
ing one to Mr. Jones, which explains itself : 

"Dear Brother Jones: About a month ago Walter Akerman 
handed me a letter from Wm. B. Hargan, of San Francisco, making 
inquiry of Rev. Sam Jones, in which letter he asked if you were 
still alive and still preaching, and if you were still true to the cause 
of Christ and. living right, etc., etc. I replied to the same as follows : 

" f Wm. B. Hargan , Esq., 49 Third St., San Francisco, Col. 

" 'Dear Sir : Your favor to the postmaster here making inquiry 
of the Rev. Sam P. Jones was handed me by the postmaster, for re- 
ply. It affords me a great deal of pleaseure to say in reply, that 
Brother Jones is still alive and in good health. He is still in the 
ministry and still doing a great work for the Master's cause, and if 
it was not vain to wish, I would be glad he could live a thousand 
years yet. We all love him, and no man has done more for the cause 
of Christ than our own Sam Jones. You ask if he is a wealthy man. 
Will say, that he is not a wealthy man, but lives well and has plenty 
— but this is no more than every man and individual is entitled to 
who lives right, puts his whole trust in Christ and gives his life's 
work for the cause of Christ. Psalm 84:11 : "The Lord God is a 
sun and a shield : the Lord will give grace and glory ; no good thing 
will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Brother Jones 
lives in Canaan's land, temporally speaking. A true child of God 
has everything he wants, both here and hereafter. Sam Jones has 
given away a fortune to charity and worthy causes, and if a man has 



Sam P. Jones. 315 

his investments in the kingdom of God, don't you know that this 
stock never fails to pay handsome dividends? 
Signed " 'Very respectfully, 

" TauIv GilrSath, Mayor.' 
"I send you herewith a letter which I received from this party in 
which he says he was converted from having read one of your ser- 
mons in print. These things no doubt do your heart good to know 
them, and encourage you in your work, and for this reason I am 
sending you the correspondence. Wishing you perfect happiness 
here always, and a glorious eternity, I am, truly and sincerely, 

"Your friend, P. G." 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



Mr. Jonijs — A Study. 

After having given an account of Mr. Jones's life and work, it Is 
fitting that I should give an estimate of the man himself, as he- 
served his day and generation, in different ways. It is conceded by 
all thinkers that Mr. Jones was one of the best all-around men that 
this or any other century has produced. To give a critical and de- 
tailed discussion of his many qualities would demand time. To dis- 
cuss him in the many capacities which he served his day would alsa 
require much space. To present him fully in his true light in these 
different manifestations, it would necessitate the work of a specialist 
in each department to do him justice. 

It is not the purpose and scope of this book to furnish such a 
study. However, I will present him briefly, in a way that will be 
suggestive to the thoughtful, who wish to know more of the secret, 
of the man who has accomplished such mighty results. 

i. — TH£ MAN. 

In the first place, let us think about him as a man. Some of the 
essentials to manhood are as follows : First, the power to choose 
between right and wrong. A man must have a clear conception of 
what is right, and what is wrong. He must be able to draw the lines; 
of demarcation, and separate the good from the bad. We see these 
elements of manhood in Joshua, who said : "Choose you this day 
whom you will serve." In Elijah, who separated the prophets and 
followers of Baal from those of God. In Paul, who said: "This, 
one thing I do." In Jesus Christ, who said: "No man can serve 
two masters." "He that is not with me, is against me." "He who^ 
gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad." Mr. Jones's mind saw 
these distinctions and lines more clearly than any living man. In an, 

(316). 



Sam P. Jonss. 317 

instant he could see all around a subject, and dissect it, and lay the 
evil and the good bare before his eyes. His natural ability in this re- 
spect was supplemented by the Holy Spirit. He had the power to 
choose. 

The second essential is an indomitable purpose to do the right. 
Daniel possessed this power when "he purposed in his heart that he 
would not defile himself." David, when he said, "Oh, God, my 
heart is fixed." Elijah, when he asked, "Why halt ye between two 
opinions? If God be God, serve him; if Baal, serve him." No 
man was ever more thoroughly possessed with a determined pur- 
pose than he. It permeated his being. With the first question, "Is 
it right?" settled, the next was, the determination to do it, let the 
consequences be what they might. He has been known to literally 
take his life in his hand, and go before an individual, or an audience, 
and carry out his purpose to a finish, without a tremor or the slight- 
est sign of fear. If he had known that the next moment after he 
carried out a formed purpose would bring an assassin to his feet to 
shoot him down in cold blood, before he would have retreated or 
run up the white flag he would have been shot down in his tracks. 
With all the temptations made strong by heredity or environment, 
or former dissipation, he fought off the evil, and lived the cleanest, 
soberest, and purest life ; one that he would not ask a mother, a wife, 
or a daughter to surpass. Such a well-defined and determined pur- 
pose few men possessed. 

In the third place, courage is another element of strength. While 
a man might have the power to choose, and the power to purpose, 
he must be courageous to obtain the highest moral culture. He has 
demonstrated to the world in the last thirty-five years his physical 
and moral courage ; the personal attacks made upon him, and manly 
defense of his person proves to the world that he was as courageous 
as a lion. His attack upon vices and sins of cultured society, and 
his denunciations of the liquor traffic, the most omnipotent power 
in the United States to-day, in which he was compelled to score the 
officials of our great commonwealth, from the President, the Govern- 
or, the supreme judge, and circuit judge, to mayor, chief of police, 
and the church officials in sympathy with them, impressed the world 



318 Sam P. Jones. 

with a courage as strong as death. He said: "I am the only man 
who runs directly against the trend of present-day society. I never 
follow the grain, but run directly contrary to it. There are plenty of 
men who believe just as I do, but I am the only one who opposes 
every custom and practice of the people of position and brain, whose 
lives contradict the teachings of the Bible. I never stand before an 
audience but what I am compelled to cross them, somewhere, most 
every time I open my mouth." This was absolutely true, and dem- 
onstrated his courage. 

In the fourth place, there must be downright honesty as an in- 
gredient of manhood. In the trivial, as well as the great things of 
life, a man must be honest. Every one who had dealings with him, 
or knew anything about him, will admit that he was absolutely hon- 
est in every particular of his life. 

A citizen of his own town, who had a misunderstanding with him, 
which resulted in blows, said of him, in the public press after his 
death : "The only fault he had, if such it can be called, was that he 
was too honest; being so honest himself, he couldn't conceive how 
other people could be anything else." From the most prominent 
man down to the humblest laborer, the consensus of opinion was his 
absolute honesty. 

Another essential in a well-rounded character is tenderness. In 
his home and with his friends, and in dealing with his enemies ; in 
the presence of the needy and repentant, in the sick-chamber, and in 
the presence of death such tenderness and gentleness can scarcely be 
found in any other life. Every expression, movement and word 
seemed to be the personification of gentleness and kindness, when 
the occasion demanded such. It was his heart that really encircled 
the world, and made for him the thousands of close friends. They 
were unconsciously drawn by his tenderness, like a needle is drawn 
by a magnet. 

When a Governor or a President dies, he is honored because of 
the position he occupies, but when a private citizen passes away, if 
honored at all, it must be because his life commands it. 

While the press of the United States gave him as much promi- 
nence, in publishing accounts of his death, as it would have done the 



Sam P. Jones. 319 

best beloved Governor or the President of the Union, it was because 
he had so impressed himself upon the people, that his death was felt 
to be a national .loss. 

II. — THE CITIZEN. 

Passing from Mr. Jones as a man, he next appears as a citizen. 
Good citizenship is the outgrowth of manhood. No man can be a 
real citizen without character as the basis. Mr. Jones was pre- 
eminently a citizen. He possessed all the characteristics of first- 
class citizenship. He was interested in the material development of 
his own town and State. Wherever he preached or lectured, he was 
interested in the things that develop a town and a community. The 
financial good of the people where he lived, as well as the thousands 
wherever he labored, was always near his heart. He thought, rea- 
soned, and devised plans for the financial betterment of those whose 
lives were thrown in contact with his. 

He had the intellectual good of the people at heart. He believed 
in good schools, good libraries, good colleges, good universities, and 
while his clear conception of what intellectual achievement should 
consist in, made him fight some of the vagaries connected with in- 
tellectual attainments, he was ever ready and willing to give his 
influence and money for the education of the people, in his own 
town and wherever he found them. 

But, to be the highest type of a citizen, one must have at heart 
the moral good of the people. And whether high or low, rich or 
poor, white or black, he prayed, labored and died to make good men 
and women out of the citizens of every town and city where he went. 
The people in Cartersville not only realized that they had lost a 
friend, a good man, and a great preacher in his death, but felt most 
keenly that they had lost an invaluable citizen, and the man that 
had done more than any other to make Cartersville what it is, and 
to give it its place before the world. 

One of his most remarkable traits was, that you could receive 
favors from him, and feel sure that you would never be reminded 
of your obligation to him. No favor ever received from him sub- 



320 Sam P. Jones. 

jected you to any risk of embarrassment afterwards. His was the 
friendship that delighted in doing for others without any desire for 
a return of favors. 

III. — THE PREACHER. 

As a preacher, Mr. Jones logically appears next. In this capacity 
lie was at his best. From the very beginning, he was a true pastor, 
visiting his flock, an inspired preacher instructing his hearers. His 
work continued to the end just as earnestly and faithfully as it was 
begun. While he did not have charge of pastorates in later years, 
he nevertheless did pastoral work in his home town, and in the great 
eities where he labored. During his last tabernacle meeting he fre- 
quently would leave the services in charge of others and take his 
horse and buggy and visit the poor and the sick, to cheer them on 
their way. He has left his hotel and gone out to the humble home 
of the drunkard's wife and talked and prayed, and led the father to 
Christ. He has visited the gambler and the saloon-keeper, and 
talked to them in their places of vice about their soul's salvation. 

But it was in the pulpit that he found his throne. He possessed 
every requisite for a great preacher. He was absolutely original. 
He could not imitate or be imitated. He stood absolutely alone .as a 
pulpit orator. He was characterized by moral earnestness. Much 
of his strength lay in his moral earnestness. No man ever preached 
with more sincerity and earnestness than he did. His courage in the 
pulpit was as mighty as his earnestness. Here is where it mani- 
fested itself in the strongest way. His perfect naturalness was one 
of the most marvelous elements in his pulpit work. He never posed, 
lie never assumed attitudes, he never squared himself to look well, 
©r thought about people looking at him. He would enter the pulpit 
the same man that he was in conversation. A professor in one of 
our leading theological seminaries said : "The secret, perhaps, in 
Sam Jones's preaching is that he takes the Sam Jones of every-day 
life into the pulpit." Every intonation of his voice, every movement 
of his being, every thought of his brain was as natural as a rippling, 
gurgling brooklet. 

Another requisite was his intellectual strength. He possessed a 



Sam P. Jones. 321 

great brain. At any moment that he willed, some of the most 
beautiful and powerful thoughts would emanate from his mind. It 
was the power of thought energized by the living Spirit that moved 
and molded the lives of his audience. His intellectual readiness 
along with intellectual strength was marvelous. Daniel Webster 
had to gather himself together hours and days before he was ready 
to put out his strength, but Mr. Jones could command himself at any 
moment, and could utilize his brain power instantly. Furthermore, 
.he was an intellectual athlete. There wasn't the slightest awkward- 
ness in his intellectual life. He had perfect command of all his 
faculties. He was the Napoleon of the pulpit. He could concen- 
trate his forces at any given time on any given thing. . His sense of 
prospective was marvelous. Every epigram, proverb, anecdote, had 
a purpose. He was an artist in this respect. His preaching was 
like painting a picture. He always had in mind, results, and, in this 
respect, he was the Edmund Burke of the pulpit. He was for win- 
ning the verdict. He had marvelous gifts of wit and humor that 
were windows, through which the light passed to enliven his utter- 
ances. He knew man. His knowledge of human nature was 
perfect. He could play upon humanity like a skilled musician, and 
bring forth the sweetest strains from the most dilapidated instru- 
ment. His pathos was the flood-gate through which the tides of 
emotion flowed. He was a proverb-maker, and gave out his wisdom 
so condensed that the simplest mind could understand, and the com- 
mon people heard him gladly, while the aristocracy listened and won- 
dered. He possessed the most marvelous voice that was ever lodged 
in a human throat. He could stand before ten, fifteen or twenty 
thousand people, and without the least effort speak so that every 
word would be distinct. It had a marvelous range. His voice 
seemed to be as natural as that of the sweetest songster. It had 
matchless qualities. If he was in a witty or humorous mood, it 
seemed to be made specially for that. If he was indulging in sar- 
casm, invective, or denunciation, it seemed to be given specially for 
that purpose. If he was in a tender, pleading, pathetic spirit, his 
voice seemed to have been keyed in the minor. There was no gift 



322 Sam P. Jones. 

in his possession that was under more complete control than his 
voice. 

His magnetism was so wonderful that when he entered a 
building, unconsciously, it seemed the great audience took cog- 
nizance of his presence, and by the time he reached the platform 
every eye was centered upon him, and they saw and felt nothing 
else but his personality while he was before them. He was 
a thorough man. He understood himself, thoroughly; he was so 
developed that there was nothing maimed about his make-up. He 
preached to men out of his own heart. He knew himself, and made 
his feelings, emotions, fears, and hopes the basis for his preaching to 
others. But with all these marvelous gifts, he could never have done 
what he did had it not been for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that 
God had entrusted to him because of his consecration and faithful- 
ness. He could have wrought untold evil, had he not been in the 
right. An intelligent policeman who fought the crowds back from 
the doors of an overcrowded auditorium, in one of the largest cities 
of the Southwest, and who got within the doors and heard his mes- 
sage, and saw how he had moved the audience, exclaimed: "Oh, 
what evil that man would do if he turned his powers in favor of the 
wrong. Had he suggested to the eight thousand men to make a 
raid on the saloons in the city, they would have followed him to the 
dives and torn down the buildings in order to carry out his man- 
dates." But these marvelous gifts were consecrated to God, and 
account for the wonderful influence that he exerted for right. He 
was a preacher whose success could not turn his head. Praise didn't 
puff him up. There was no compliment or censure that seemed to 
have any effect on him. He was never intoxicated or affected by the 
laurels that he won. He was the same Sam Jones at the end of his 
enviable career that he was when an unknown backwoods Georgia 
circuit-rider. 

IV. — THB 3VANGSUST. 

Most of his life was spent as an evangelist. He was known every- 
where as "Sam Jones, the Georgia Evangelist. , ' For twenty-five 
years or more he was recognized as one of America's greatest and 



Sam P. Jones. 323 

most noted evangelists. The United States in the last century pro- 
duced just two world-wide evangelists. One was Dwight ly. Moody, 
of sturdy New England stock ; the other was Sam Jones, of South- 
ern blood and provincialism. While they were so entirely unlike, a 
comparison, if such was desired, would be impossible. 

In Boston, where both were engaged in great revival cam- 
paigns, which were separate and distinct from each other, Mr. 
Jones and Mr. Moody had a conversation. Mr. Moody sug- 
gested that he would turn his overflow crowds to Mr. Jones's 
services. Mr. Jones characteristically remarked, "I am not in the 
habit of preaching to the overflow crowds; the other fellow does 
that in the town where I am." When the test came on, the coldest 
and dreariest day, Mr. Jones's audiences far outnumbered those of 
Mr. Moody. He would take the opportunity of commending Mr. 
Moody, whom he loved devotedly, and urging the people to attend 
upon his ministry, and once said: "The difference between Mr. 
Moody and myself is this : Mr. Moody is like Peter, I am like Sam 
Jones." In his evangelistic work, he had no rival. He was the 
originator and perpetuator of his peculiar evangelism. The Bible 
makes a distinction between the work of an evangelist and a pastor. 
Paul, who was both a pastor and evangelist, said : "He gave some 
apostles, some prophets, some pastors, some teachers, some evan- 
gelists." In the mind of this great apostle, there was no conflict 
between the work of an evangelist and pastor. Their work was 
separate and distinct. Each had his place. He further said : "For 
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, till we all 
come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of 
God." Mr. Jones, the evangelist, grew out of Jones the preacher. 
The gifts and graces of the evangelist were developed in him while 
a pastor. They became more in evidence as his field of labor in- 
creased and enlarged, until the bounds of his circuit were too small 
for him, and he reached out in every direction until the world finally 
became his parish. 

While you may make rules and regulations to confine such a man, 
it is impossible to hold him within limitation. There were two 
things that made him the great evangelist that he was. The first 



324 Sam P. Jonss. 

was, his evangelical preaching. He took the Bible as his authority. 
He preached it just as he found it. He had no patience with higher 
criticism. No evangelist has any business with such a Bible. With- 
out the utmost faith in the simple word of God, he might preach 
earnestly and eloquently, but could not produce conviction. He took 
the Book just as he found it. 

A higher critic said to him once : "Mr. Jones, you don't believe 
the Bible" just as it is, do you?" His reply was: "You fool you, of 
course I do; how could I believe it as it ain't?" The great evan- 
gelical doctrines, such as the weakness of the human heart; the 
work of the good Spirit in convincing the mind and convicting the 
will ; the grace of God in helping the sinner to repent, and in trust- 
ing Jesus Christ for salvation, and in the power of God to keep, and 
the reward of the faithful, and the punishment of the wicked — these 
were preached with such earnestness and faithfulness as has seldom 
been heard. He did not preach them in a technical way, but in a 
simple manner, as his Lord had done. He picked up the illustra- 
tions and incidents of life, and through them made these great truths 
so simple that any one could grasp them ; in this way, his preachings 
was more like the Saviour's than any one else. 

In the second place there must be the evangelistic spirit. A man 
may be evangelical in his preaching, and yet if he hasn't the 
evangelistic spirit, it is out of the question to move men. No one 
was ever more deeply interested in the evangelistic work than Mr. 
Jones. He devoted every energy to this cause. In his last years he 
was known to speak to his most intimate friends and preachers, say- 
ing that he was interested in who should carry on this great evan- 
gelistic work when he was gone. Among his last words were ex- 
pressions of his deep solicitude for the coming evangelism. While 
his evangelistic work encountered much criticism, from high sources, 
he always numbered some of the leading bishops and most distin- 
guished ministers as his most earnest friends and ardent admirers 
and truest supporters. At one time in his life some of the bishops 
had much to say in public, and through the press, about evangelists, 
having him as their target; and while he answered back from the 
pulpit and through the press making things rather lively, he always 



Sam P. JonKS. 325> 

held these men in highest esteem, and after some of them passed 
away he was among the first to aid with his influence and money 
to erect lasting and abiding monuments to their memory and work. 

v. — the I/eCTURER. 

As a lecturer-orator, Mr. Jones stood at the head of the list. Af- 
ter his great meeting in Memphis, he was called back to the city to 
deliver a lecture. His subject was "Character and Characters."' 
He began by saying: "This is the largest audience I have ever 
lectured to, and the most intelligent/' and then let them down gently 
by assuring them that it was his first attempt on the lecture plat- 
form. Occasionally, between his meetings, he would lecture for the 
churches, and other worthy causes in Georgia, and adjoining States. 
Frequently, there was no charge made for his services above his 
expenses. But as his fame spread, he was besieged by the bureaus 
and committees for lecture dates. A great many of these were 
turned down for a number of years. His correspondence asking 
for lectures was immense. A close friend who sat by him one morn- 
ing, while looking through a pile of mail, said : "There sat Mr. 
Jones, his mobile face showing the contents of each letter before he 
spoke, dictating in the fewest words the rnost kindly reply, and in 
better English than he has ever talked. I was reminded of what a 
famous man said to another, 'See here, do you know you are talking 
first-class prose worth fifty dollars an hour?' On he went dictating, 
removing letters from the big valise in the corner, which held at 
least eight hundred unanswered letters, to a great man like T. De- 
Witt Talmage, and then to a reformed drunkard, and then to a bro- 
ken-hearted wife, and then he began to answer the calls to lecture 
offering one hundred to five hundred dollars a night. He said, 'No,'" 
kindly, with the emphasis, 'we preach.' " 

During the years of his ill health he lectured constantly and his 
summer months were spent at the great chautauquas. The lecture 
platform afforded him great opportunities for doing good. He was 
one of those men who could pick up his audience at first appearance 
and mould it with his thought. He never lectured without lifting 
some one to a holier and better life. The chautauqua platform was~ 



326 Sam P. Jon£s. 

his throne as a lecturer. After his great meeting in Cincinnati, 
twenty-one years ago, Bishop Vincent came down to Cincinnati and 
interviewed him regarding a lecture at Lake Chautauqua, New 
York. From that time year after year he had visited the great 
chautauquas throughout the West, Southwest and North. He ap- 
peared at the largest and best of them, and the oftener he appeared, 
the larger the attendance and more delighted were the people. He 
had visited some of them year after year for the last twenty years. 
For next season plans had been made for anniversary days in his 
honor. He was the celebrity at the chautauquas. The good that 
he accomplished at these summer gatherings will never be known 
in this life. One instance out of hundreds is given. 

Riding out of Chicago, a summer or two ago, he was met at his 
destination by a young man in an automobile. As soon as Mr. 
Jones alighted from the train, the young man walked up, shook 
hands with him, and said : "I want the honor of driving you around 
to the hotel ; when you were here last year, I was a miserable sot, 
but I haven't touched a drop of liquor since I heard you lecture." 
Such results followed his lectures wherever he went. It was on the 
lecture platform that he gave the freest vent to his emotions — such 
as wit, humor, and pathos. To hear him lecture at one of 
these great chautauqua gatherings was like going to see a great 
geyser play. He never studied, in a scholarly sense, his lecture, but 
would simply stand there in the presence of thousands and let nature 
play, and the truth bear upon the subject as he saw it rush from his 
soul in warm, liquid speech. While he sometimes emitted some mud, 
it never soiled any one. On these occasions he was at times as fear- 
less and as oblivious to the opinions of his auditors as a cyclone is of 
the forest that it sweeps over. He had his own way, said his own 
say, but carried the crowd with him, who demanded that he should 
come again the next season. Before he closed his lecture he would 
usually stir up the emotion of his people with some beautiful and 
touching story that had come under his observation. At such a mo- 
ment, he seemed in touch with some heavenly music which was forc- 
ing him to keep in tune with same. The great audiences forgot 



Sam P. Jones. 327 

themselves, and seemed to be far away listening to the heavenly 
melodies. 

Last summer at the Miami Valley Chautauqua, where he had 
graced the rostrum for ten consecutive years, and had, if possible, 
the largest audience ever before, the contract for his presence the 
next year was signed before he left. In his closing remarks there 
he said that he had something like a presentiment that he would 
never speak from that platform again. Said he : ' "I am in excellent 
health, but such is my presentiment now ; so, if I never address you 
again, good-by." 

There was always a sustained interest at his lectures. People 
never wearied or went to sleep. Dr. A. C. Dixon, one Monday 
morning, met Mr. Jones on Broadway, New York, and said to him : 
"I see from this morning's Sun that you so shocked the audience 
at Prohibition Park yesterday that the modest women got up and 
left the house." Mr. Jones quietly asked: "Did the Sun say that 
anybody went to sleep?" "No," he replied. "Well, Bud," he said, 
"you keep on reading the Sun, and when it says that anybody went 
to sleep while I was talking, you let me know." 

vi. — the; reformer. 

As a reformer and prohibitionist, Mr. Jones was given a promi- 
nent place in the history of good government and morals. He was 
one of the first preachers that opened his mouth in the Southland 
against the liquor traffic. Everywhere he went, his strongest at- 
tacks were against it. The greatest reformations in municipal and 
individual life followed. Saloons were voted out of the towns, or 
suppressed, wherever he went, and for a quarter of a century the 
towns have been without open saloons. The reformations and con- 
versions of gamblers were counted by the score — sometimes a hun- 
dred in his great meetings. 

While in Little Rock, Ark., one of the most noted gamblers of the 
West was reformed. We furnish an account of this reformation : 

"The whole gambling fraternity of the Southwest will read with 
wonder that one of their number has thrown down his cards and dice 
and bade an eternal farewell to the green cloth, with all its blandish- 



328 Sam P. Jonds. 

ments and allurements. From Oklahoma to New Orleans, from 
Memphis to El Paso, from St. Louis to Galveston, no gambler's 
name is more generally known than that of E. E. Crutchneld. Ever 
since he was a boy he has been experienced at cards and dice. He 
has won and lost enough money to buy the Iron Mountain Railroad, 
with all its appurtenances and belongings. He has won thousands 
of dollars in a single night here in Little Rock, where he is well 
known and universally a favorite among the fraternity. He has fol- 
lowed the vocation of gambling in different cities of the great South- 
west and in all the larger cities of this section. Pie went to the first 
meeting held here by Rev. Sam Jones, and never missed a solitary 
service, until last Wednesday night he became more and more in- 
terested and threw himself at the Savior's feet, and the kind Savior 
took him up and blessed him, and wrote out a pardon for all his sins 
and sent him forth rejoicing in a Savior's love. He arose, and gave 
Mr. Jones his hand, and made a manly confession of his life. He 
said : 'This is the last deal forever, boys, for I have given my heart 
to God, and shall join the church at once.' He left for his home at 
Jennings Falls, where he owns a beautiful farm, to convey to his 
wife and children the glad news of his conversion to the Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

One of the best examples of a reformed drunkard happened while 
making a prohibition speech in Robertson county, Tennessee. This 
was one of the many remarkable instances of reformed lives. Mr. 
Jones spoke of it in the following way : "I was making a prohibition 
speech in Robertson county, Tennessee, and noticed on the right of 
the platform a blear-eyed, bloated fellow who was about three parts 
drunk. Each part a third. As I talked he would screw his fist into 
his eyes and wipe away the tears. After the speaking I went to a 
friend's house, perfectly exhausted, and lay down. The lady of the 
house called at the door in a few minutes., saying that a man wanted 
to see me. 

" 'Tell him I am tired,' I said, 'and please excuse me.' 
" 'That is all right, anyhow,' she said, 'because he is a drunken, 
ragged vagabond.' 

"I said : 'If he is that sort of a fellow, let him in. I used to be- 






Sam P. Jonks. 329 

long to that gang myself, and I never go back on them/ The man 
came in, and I found he was the drunken fellow who had listened 
to me speak. 

"He said : 'Mr. Jones, I don't want any money. Money can do 
me no good. I am a ruined man. Drink has made me a wreck. A 
short time ago, I had a happy home and household. A few weeks 
ago I buried my wife, having crushed every drop of blood out of 
her heart before she died. My two boys are at the Orphans' Home 
in Nashville. One of them is a little blind fellow. My two girls 
are in Murfreesboro, and this (here he pulled a little black cap out 
of his pocket) is the last thing that is left to remind me that I ever 
had a household. It is my little blind boy's cap. Now, I don't want 
any money from you, but I just got an idea from the way you talked 
that maybe you had some sympathy for me. If you have, pray for 
me. Good-by.' And he started off. 

" 'Hold on here,' said I, and I called up Mr. Taylor, my secretary, 
and said : 'Frank, go up town with this man and wash him all over 
with soap and put a new suit of clothes on him from head to foot 
and bring him back.' In an hour or two he came back, and I did 
not know him. I had to be introduced to him over. I took out one 
dollar and handed it to him, and said : 'Railroad fare in this State 
is three cents a mile. Here is one dollar. Now, you get on a train 
and ride thirty-three miles, no matter in what direction, and get the 
conductor to put you off in the woods when you are thirty-three 
miles out, and then you strike out through the woods for a new life/ 

"The fellow did exactly as I told him. I got a letter from him the 
other day, and he said that he got into the woods and struck for 
a new life. He got a school, sent for his children, rented him a home 
and was doing well. 

"A few weeks afterward a first-class tailor took me into his store 
and gave me a seventy-five-dollar suit. I spent about thirty dollars 
on that poor drunkard, and made forty-five dollars clear. Why 
don't some of you fellows speculate that way?" 

If greatness is measured by the service a reformer does, Mr. Jones 
deserves the appellation "great reformer." In scores of communi- 
ties throughout the land, under the spell of his preaching, the civic 



330 Sam P. Jones. 

conscience has been quickened, and the social and political reforms 
have been permanent and far-reaching in their results. Mothers' 
hearts breaking over their erring, wayward sons have had their 
mourning turned into joy. Lonely wives creeping through the 
watches of the night have been enabled to put on the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heaviness. Discouraged and despairing men 
have had their vision enlarged, and their faith strengthened. For 
a score and a half of years, wherever Mr. Jones has gone, his serv- 
ices have brought about such results. As a reformer he had the 
boldness of a Hebrew prophet. He had the spirit of a Savanarola. 
He possessed the courage of a Martin Luther. He had the elo- 
quence of a Whitfield, and the earnestness of Moody. He had the 
passion of John Knox. Like John the Baptist, the axe was laid at 
the root of the tree. His message was a vital and fundamental one 
for all classes, but in a peculiar sense, for those lives who needed 
reformation. 

VII. — THK AUTHOR. 

Mr. Jones had no mean reputation as a writer and an author. 
While his arduous evangelistic work demanded much of his strength 
and time, he took occasion to contribute articles to the secular press 
and religious papers. He often felt that it was his duty, and he de- 
sired to devote more time to literary work. There are half a dozen 
or more volumes of his sermons that have been printed. Any one 
who has read his sermons can see the unique position that he filled 
as a writer. For years he was contributor to the Atlanta Journal, 
and the articles covered nearly every important issue of the day. 
Some of his most thoughtful and prophetic utterances are to be 
found in those weekly letters. A number of prominent lawyers have 
said that they have not missed reading one of those articles since 
they began. Other prominent citizens have spoken of the deep inter- 
est they took in the paper, because of his contributions. During his 
life he was associated in the editorial work of one or two religious 
papers. His writings in those papers were as unique as his preach- 
ing. People were always eager to get anything that came from his 
pen. The royalty on his books ran up into the thousands of dollars 



Sam P. Jonks. 331 

the first few years; however, he didn't pay much attention to the 
publications, and a great deal of the money never reached his hands. 
All sorts of publishers got out books purporting to be from him. 
The authorized publishers of these books were the M. E. Publishing 
House, South, Nashville; the Western Book Concern, Cincinnati; 
and the Canadian Book House, Toronto. A later book was pub- 
lished by a Subscription Book Concern in Nashville. 

VIII. — THI) PHILANTHROPIST. 

Thousands of dollars that came to him as royalty was used in 
philanthropic work. As a philanthropist, Mr. Jones deserves con- 
sideration. While his gifts were not in large sums, to a few insti- 
tutions, he contributed liberally and generously to worthy enter- 
prises, wherever he came in contact with them. He was always the 
most liberal contributor in erecting great tabernacles and auditori- 
ums in the cities where he repeatedly held meetings. He gave lib- 
erally to the schools and colleges where poor boys and girls were 
being educated. He was instrumental in starting a female college 
in his town, which was afterwards converted into a public school 
building. He took special delight in helping orphans' homes and 
such worthy institutions. He came to the rescue and helped indi- 
viduals who were threatened with financial embarrassment. He 
helped the struggling colored people in his own town and in many 
places where he gave them special services. He was a liberal con- 
tributor to municipal reform movements, and to the missionary 
cause. The Young Men's Christian Association appealed to him 
very earnestly, and in many places he inaugurated movements and 
raised the money to build Y. M. C. A. halls. In a number of the 
leaidng cities where he worked, these Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciations are a monument to his generosity and efforts. A great 
many families were educated by him, and there are ministers in the 
Southland filling prominent pulpits to-day who love and honor him 
for the support that he gave their widowed mothers, while they were 
struggling through college. Perhaps, for twenty-five years, or 
more, he made on an average of thirty thousand dollars a year, but 
much of it was given away, where in his wisdom he thought best. 



332 Sam P. JonKS. 

In speaking to a friend last summer, he said : "The nearest I can 
■estimate, I have made over seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
with my tongue." He was a generous and liberal contributor to 
every worthy cause. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



A Summary. 
The Fiftieth Anniversary. 

"Cartersviu,e, Ga., October 16, 1897. 
'"To the Atlanta Journal: 

"You have requested me to give you something apropos to this, 
my fiftieth anniversary jubilee. I have written upon almost all 
-conceivable subjects except scientific subjects, and unless I was a 
scientist to the manor born and educated to the clan, I know I shall 
;not be able to say just what ought to be said, and leave unsaid just 
what ought not to be said. 

"I tell you it is no small thing to be fifty years old. The world is 
mot much interested in babyhood, though the child is father to the 
man ; and then the world is not much interested in young manhood, 
though character reaches from the cradle to the coffin. There is not 
*a day in human life but that character is being builded, associations 
being fixed and destinies being settled. 

"I was born of religious parents, taught in the ways of virtue and 
manhood, and escaped the evil that curses so many human lives up 
to the beginning of the war between the States. My father joining 
cthe ranks of the Southern Confederacy, I joined the ranks of the 
devil. How I pity a boy of the tender age of fourteen years in times 
.like those ! I believe the war wrecked more young men than it killed 
old men. From that period of age between fourteen and twenty- 
iour I learned the lesson that the way of the transgressor is hard. 
But marvelous facts in a human life, I have been from the age of 
twenty-four to the age of fifty as honest and faithful a champion for 
;manhood, truth and vitrue, integrity, honor and right as I ever 
.missed the mark along that line in former years. It was not only a 

(333) 



334 Sam P. Jonss. 

revolution in my life, but regeneration in my soul that transformed 
me from the practice of wrong to the championship' of right. 

"In 1872 I began my ministerial life as pastor. From the first I 
wanted to get the juice out of a text. How will I get the juice out 
of my text? was the supreme question. And the juice is all I ever 
wanted out of the text. Others may deal in bones and hoofs and 
horns, and that which is dry and tasteless, but I always wanted the 
juice, and always wanted to give juice to others. I never attended a 
theological 'cemetery/ Till this blessed day I know nothing of sys- 
tematic theology as a science. I never studied 'hermalettics,' or 
'exegetics' or 'polxemics.' I never studied nor taught oratory or 
rhetoric. I have always believed that there were three essentials to 
an effective speakr : First, clearness ; second, concentration ; thirdly, 
directness. The average speaker can not be clear unless he bathes 
the subject in a flood of light by illustration. Let an audience see 
what you are talking about. Second, concentration. Put a whole 
lead mine into one bullet. Then, thirdly, directness ; aim where you 
want to hit and something will be lying dead around in that neck of 
the woods. 

"I have made the Word of God the limit and boundary line of 
truth. I have considered myself free to think within that boundary 
line. I have never been hampered by rule or schools. God's Word 
has been the circle and. God himself the orbit around which my mind 
has moved, I have been called a crank, mountebank, clown, fanatic 
and fool ; and I have gathered all these titles up and am willing to 
wear them with honors and cast them down at my Saviour's feet 
at last, emblems of my loyalty to Him and my fidelity to my convic- 
tions. Men have criticized me everywhere. If I had preached as the 
schools teach and systematic theology directs, and logic and gram- 
mar demand, I would have been criticized as little as other men, 
preached to as few people as other men, and moved in as small cir- 
cles as other men. A thousand times I have preferred mental train- 
ing to mental culture. The preacher who reads and studies all the 
week and stands on the Sabbath day and vomits intellectually that 
which he has taken in during the week, may please the fancy, 
but will never move the conscience of an audience. It is in the men- 



Sam P. Jones. 335 

tal world as it is in the world of physics. A man who has studied 
forestry until he knows all the trees, and all about trees and writes 
fluently on their nature and quality don't amount to much in the 
practical world. The mineralogist who knows the weights and 
names and kinds of ores and writes fluently upon that subject, may 
have his place in the world. But the man who sees an axe handle in 
a tree, and an axe in an ore bank, has the genius to put the two to- 
gether and thus furnish an implement that every farmer needs, he it 
is the world applauds. So in the world, the man who gathers the 
nuggests of thought here and yonder and puts them together until 
he has an idea that moves consciences, builds character and fixes 
destiny, he it is in the mental world that is doing good, and not the 
mental glutton who feeds and fills his mind simply to vomit it back, 
because he has not the power of assimilation. The mental training 
that harnesses every faculty of the mind, perception, conception, 
memory, judgment, reason and imagination, and drives them like so 
many horses in a team, tapping the one that drags back, is the kind 
we need. I would no more carry a manuscript in the pulpit to help 
my memory than I would carry a bundle of fodder to urge along a 
lazy horse in my team. Do the faculties of the mind like the team- 
ster does a lazy horse, lambast them, and if memory or perception or 
imagination does not come to time, pound the life out of them and 
make them come to time. 

"This is the way a man fifty years old feels and thinks. I was once 
much wiser than I am to-day. When I was twenty-one years old I 
looked upon Daniel Webster as an idiot, and if Solomon had come 
around I would have sent him forthwith to the asylum. But I am 
now at that period of life when I am only able to see what a fool I 
was then. This much on that line. 

"This anniversary is a unique one to me. It is the first jubilee 
anniversary I have ever had. What a royal time it is to have fifty 
friends and brethren to sit at the table in my own home — men from 
perhaps twenty different States, men whom I honor, and men who 
have honored me with their presence at my home. It's an honor to 
any man when fifty busy business men will quit their homes and busi- 
ness and come afar to be present on an occasion like this. It is an 



336 Sam P. Jones. 

honor I do not deserve and an honor which I profoundly acknowl- 
edge. Wife is the author of this unique program for the jubilee. 
When she first suggested it I thought she would perchance invite the 
friends from a distance, they would send their excuses and we would: 
have simply a jubilee with our home friends at Cartersville, Ga.. 
But such the friends willed should not be, and we had a jubilee an- 
niversary with forty-nine friends sitting at our table at dinner, and 
all our Cartersville and vicinity friends gathered with us in the 
evening at an informal reception. The very thought of it makes me- 
think more of my wife's husband and my children's father. I 
tell you, a swallow-tail coat, plug hat, tooth-pick shoes and red cra- 
vat fit into this occasion better perhaps than any occasion of my life.- 
Who wouldn't don all these things on an occasion like this? As I 
have said before at my silver wedding, when I donned this full- 
dress attire and my friends laughed at me in my swallow-tail coat, I 
told them I never had one before, and they could see that I had it on; 
mostly behind. 

"I notice my wife showing me a little more honor than usual and': 
my children tip their hats and bow more reverently to the patriarch 
and pater familias. My horse seems to move with a quicker step 
and the servants on the place eye me as I pass by and then look at 
each other as much as to say: 'He don't look like it's in him, but 
sho' he is a big man in his way.' 

"After the trials and hardships of twenty years' constant labor this- 
forms an oasis, pleasant occasion that makes me feel grateful to God 
and love my fellow man more. To the friends here and yonder who- 
do not participate personally in this occasion, I send words of greet- 
ing and cheer, and above all things say to them that the richest re- 
ward God has given me on earth is the faithful men and women of 
America, who have, through criticisms and sometimes misrepresenta- 
tions, ever been faithful in their prayers and good will towards me.. 
I have not lived in vain, thank God, and while life shall last with me- 
I shall count myself happy for the honors done me on this our jubilee: 
occasion. 

"Sam P. Jones.'" 




I- * 




Sam P. Jones. 337 

Just a year before the day Mr. Jones's body lay in state at the 
Capitol of Georgia, President Roosevelt was in Atlanta, and learn- 
ing that Mr. Jones was in the audience, asked to be presented to him. 
Mr. Jones was conducted to the platform, and was introduced to 
the President in the presence of fifty thousand people at Pied- 
mont Park. Upon meeting Mr. Jones, Mr. Roosevelt expressed 
great pleasure, and said : "Mr. Jones, you, in your way, are doing 
for this country and the people what I am trying to accomplish in 
mine. I heartily endorse your good work, and hope that success 
will continue to crown your efforts. The next time you visit Wash- 
ington I want you to telegraph me in advance, and I want you to 
be my guest during your stay in the Capitol City." 

After Mr. Jones acknowledged the ■ introduction, the President 
asked for Mrs. Jones, saying he would like to meet her. Mrs. 
Jones came forward, and was introduced to the chief magistrate. 
As Mrs. Jones shook hands with him, she said : "President Roose- 
velt, I am glad to meet you, and I think you are the second greatest 
man in America. There is the greatest," she said, pointing to her 
husband, as he stood with his arm linked in the President's. The 
President good-naturedly replied, "Ah, you don't think Sam's 
great." 

After his death, Rev. Russell H. Conwell, LL.D., president of 
Temple College, and pastor of the Baptist Temple, Philadelphia, 
wrote : 

"Rev. Sam Jones always reminded me of a great cedar tree stand- 
ing on the side of Monte Viso, on the northern boundary of Italy. 
It had been broken down by an avalanche when it was small, but 
had recovered itself, assuming in its growth very curious shape and 
immense strength. It is now so large that it holds back the ava- 
lanche which used to scour the side of the mountain and make trav- 
eling very dangerous below." 

The late lamented Bishop Beckwith, of the Episcopal diocese of 
Georgia, and one of the most eloquent pulpit orators this country 
has ever produced, was never a man of extravagant speech or sen- 
sational ideas in public utterance or private talk. Praise from him 
was praise indeed. Bishop Beckwith said : 

12 j 



338 Sam P. Jones. 

"Sam Jones has done more good in Georgia than any man I 
know. I would be happy if I could go into the presence of my 
Maker with Sam Jones's record." 

These three testimonials, one from the President of the nation, 
another from one of the most distinguished ministers of the United 
States, who says that he got his inspiration from Mr. Jones, and 
the other from a distinguished churchman and bishop, with a thou- 
sand more which might be given in summing up the influence and 
work of his life, but we prefer to let Mr. Jones's own words close 
the chapters, covering his work as a preacher, evangelist, and 
lecturer : 

"Ivike Saul of Tarsus, I was turned right about, and now for 
thirty-four years, I have been obedient to the heavenly call. I spent 
eight years of my life as a pastor upon different circuits in the 
North Georgia Conference. Then I took the agency of the Or- 
phans' Home, and fed and clothed and cared for the orphan chil- 
dren during my evangelistic work for more than twelve years. I 
have been out of the pastorate for seventeen years, and my life has 
been given almost wholly to evangelistic work, covering almost 
every State in the Union and most of the principal cities and towns. 
I do not affirm with absolute correctness, but I estimate that I have 
seen five hundred thousand people turned from the error of their 
ways into a better life under my ministry. I have preached, perhaps, 
to more than a million of people a year for the past twenty-five 
years. I have known as many as twenty-seven hundred people to 
join the churches in a series of meetings, and frequently as many 
as a thousand. I have been but an humble instrument in the hands 
of God in this work. His has been the power, so to Him shall be 
the glory. Reckoning outside of the grace and power of God, I do 
not understand my own work. But God tells us that with Him all 
things are possible, and that he has chosen the weak things of this 
world to confound the wise, and that this treasure is in earthen 
vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of 
man. 

" While my life has been one of continued toil, carrying me away 
from home perhaps eleven months in each year for more than twen- 



Sam P. Jonss. 339 

ty-five years, yet looking back over these years, I can but say if I 
had a thousand lives I'd consecrate them all to this work, for the 
highest post of honor and the grandest work mortal man can do is 
to be in a position where God will help him, and then do faithfully 
the work God would have him do. Profoundly convinced from the 
start till now that the grace of God had wrought a mighty change 
in my own heart and life, and with an ever-growing faith in the 
power of Christ to save all men, I have gone unflinchingly on with 
my work proclaiming what I believed to be the truth as it is in Jesus 
Christ. I have been criticised much — sometimes justly, but always 
criticised. It is part of the penalty awarded to success, and as I 
have frequently said, the train that raises no dust, makes no noise 
and kills no stock must have run very slow or been side-tracked 
along the way. 

"Amid it all I have borne nothing but the kindly spirit toward all 
mankind. I have never stickled for creeds, nor been an expounder 
of dogma. I have simply championed that which I knew was right 
and denounced that which I knew was wrong. In this work God has 
given me a thousand friends for every enemy that I have found' and 
a freedom of liberty which few men have enjoyed. In all these years 
I have gone where I pleased, staid as long as I pleased, said what I 
pleased while there, and left when I pleased. Sometimes they have 
threatened to drum me out of town; but I have always answered 
back, saying : 'Boys, I've got the drums ; I won't lend them to you. 
I am going to drum you out before this thing is over.' 

"I am profoundly grateful to God that at this moment of my life 
I can lay my hand on my heart and turn my eyes into the faces of 
the millions of people who live to-day and say that I do not cherish 
an unkind feeling toward any man alive. Looking over these years 
I can see the mistakes of my life have been many. I can see where, 
in a thousand ways, I might have improved lost opportunities and 
shunned breakers upon which I well-nigh foundered. But with the 
years behind me and whatever God may allot to me in the days and 
years to come in this world, I have no disposition to go back and 
pull the same hills and fight over the battles again. I have no dis- 
position to ask for an armistice; I have no desire to compromise. 



340 Sam P. Jonss. 

I shall never change my methods or alter my plans until better meth-« 
ods and truer plans shall be given me of God. The myriads of ap- 
proving faces and warm handshakes and kindly God-bless-you's 
which I have received all along the way make up the sweetest memo- 
ries that I carry with me to-day. I wish for humanity all peace 
and happiness here and a crown of everlasting life hereafter. 

"My faith in God and my faith in humanity grows as the years 
go by. I believe in God with all my heart, and never had more 
faith in humanity than I have to-day." 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



"Dead Soldier of the Cross Comes Home/' 

The last home-coming of Mr. Jones can not be told of better than 
to quote from his home paper, the Cartersville News: 

"Rev. Sam P. Jones, the great evangelist, is dead. He died on 
Monday. 

"What a pang of sorrow this announcement has caused. Not 
alone to the people of Cartersville, his home town, is the knowledge 
that he is no more a source of deep gloom, but to the people all over 
the Union, which was his field. 

"The news of Mr. Jones's death when it first reached the city 
through the Western Union telegraph office, was not believed. Al- 
most every one who heard it thought there must be some mistake 
about it. It said he was found dead in Louisville. His whereabouts 
had been pretty well known to most of the people. He was supposed 
to have been on his way home from Oklahoma City, Olklahoma, 
where he had been holding a meeting, but his supposed itinerary 
did not include Louisville. However, the doleful news was later 
confirmed by a private telegram. When the people began to no lon- 
ger doubt the awful truth, then there was great manifestations of 
sorrow among all, every eye looking into every other eye with a dis- 
tressed cast which meant with no mistaking, an overpowering com- 
mon sorrow. Many there were who could not' mention the event 
without breaking down in a flood of tears. The force of the great 
loss to the community pressed down with great weight upon the 
hearts of all. 

"The particulars of Mr. Jones's death as finally obtained were 
about thus : He was on his return from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 
He had been holding a two-weeks' meeting there. He was coming 
ihome over the Choctaw division of the Rock Island Route. The 

(34i) 



342 Sam P. JonSs. 

train reached Perry, a small town twelve miles out from Little Rock, 
Ark., where a freight wreck detained it. On the train with him 
were Mrs. Jones, his two daughters, Mrs. Annie Pyron and Miss 
Julia Baxter Jones, his assistant and secretary, Mr. Thomas Dun- 
ham ; Rev. Walt Holcomb, of Nashville, Tenn., who has been assist- 
ing him in his meetings; Prof. Edwin Smoot, who has been assist- 
ing him as vocalist. They were all aboard the sleeper. At about six 
o'clock Mr. Jones arose from his berth and put on his clothes. He 
then sought the porter of the car and had his shoes shined, joking 
the porter in a light vein the while. He woke his daughter, Mrs. 
Pyron, complaining of a collicky feeling, and a pain about his 
stomach. He asked her to prepare him a cup of hot water. While 
the water was heating his daughter sat down beside him on the seat 
in the open space in the sleeper. He seemed to continue in pain, and 
Mrs. Pyron called Mr. Holcomb. Then the others of the party were 
called. As Mr. Holcomb, with Mrs. Pyron, was ministering to the 
sick man as best he could, Mr. Jones fell suddenly over the seat, 
striking the hard part and causing a small abrasion of the skin on his 
face and hands. He evidently tried to speak, but made no audible 
utterance. He died practically in the arms of Mr. Holcomb. A phy- 
sician was summoned, but reached the train too late to be of avail. 
Heart failure was supposed to have been the cause of his death, but 
this was doubtless superinduced by an attack of acute indigestion, to 
which Mr. Jones was subject, and from which he had suffered 
greatly. 

"At Little Rock the body was under the care of an undertaker, 
embalmed and prepared for the homeward journey. Mr. Tom Dun- 
ham says that the sorrow, when it was known that Mr. Jones was 
dead, was wonderful to witness. At Little Rock men, weeping, 
pushed their way to where the body lay, saying they had been con- 
verted under Sam Jones's preaching and expressing what wonderful 
things he had done for them, individually, and as it was there, so it 
was at every stop that was made where the people could get access 
to the presence of the sacred remains. All along in the towns and 
the country, people stood with bared heads on the side of the track 
in respect to the great man, whose corpse was passing. At Memphis, 



Sam P. Jones. 343 

Nashville and Chattanooga the interest and sorrow manifested was 
especially great. 

"Mr. Jones's remains arrived at his home on his birthday, a birth- 
day, too, that had been planned for as a happy occasion, where the 
members of the family and the relatives would gather. A birthday 
dinner was to be a special feature. The big turkey had been killed 
and all the preparations for a home feast had been made. It was 
the evangelist's fifty-ninth birthday, and enjoying it with his friends 
and family, he was to have gone on to Holly Springs, Miss., there to 
open a meeting, assisted by Rev. Walt Holcomb and Prof. Smoot. 
Alas ! that death should have destroyed the plan ! 

"Mr. John W. Thomas, Jr., president of the Nashville, Chatta- 
nooga & St. Louis railway, like his father, has been for some time 
a warm personal friend of Sam Jones. When he knew of his friend's 
death, and the place and circumstances, he immediately interested 
himself in the matter of assisting to get the remains to their intended 
destination. He sent a special engine and coach to bear the remains 
from Memphis to Cartersville. 

"At one-thirty o'clock Tuesday afternoon the special bearing the 
remains of the evangelist reached Cartersville. Bulletins, telling 
the whereabouts of the special at different times after it left Chatta- 
nooga were posted in public places, and the announcement had been 
made that the fire bell would be rung for twenty minutes before the 
arrival of the special to give the people notice. As soon as the first 
solemn peals of the bell were heard, and even before, the people be- 
gan to gather about the depot, and by the time the train arrived 
practically the population of the entire town had gathered. On the 
train with the remains were : 

"Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Pyron, Miss Julia Jones, Mr. Thomas Dunham, 
Rev. Walt Holcomb, Prof. Edwin Smoot, Mr. Ruohs Pyron, Mr. B. 
C. Sloan, Rev. French Olliver, Rev. J. A. Bowen, Rev. G. W. Duval 
and Mr. Sam P. Jones, Jr. 

"The body was removed from the special to the city park, where 
the box was removed from the beautiful casket. The casket con- 
taining the remains was then placed in the hearse by Mr. J. W. 
Jones. A procession of citizens was then formed to escort the re- 



344 Sam P. Jones. 

mains to the home. The hundreds of men that gathered all formed 
a line. The mayor and council were present in a body, and fonned 
a part of the escort. The solemn procession moved toward the home 
and made a touching spectacle. All through the gathering and in* 
the march people of both sexes, and all ages, were seen weeping. 
The love and appreciation of Sam Jones in his own community was 
never more fittingly exhibited than in the manifestations of grief 
shown when the last that was mortal of the great man had reached 
the confines of the town. 

"At the home the procession of citizens formed a single file on 
each side of the walkway and in the space between the files the body 
was carriecl into the home. A loving invitation was then given for 
everybody to go in and view the remains. 

"In single file the hundreds that gathered moved into the west par- 
lor, where- the remains lay, and going by the casket took a last look 
at the familiar face of the man they so loved. In through the front 
door went the thousands of white friends, while from the rear came 
the hundreds of colored people who almost worshipped "Mars* 
Sam," and the two files met and passed at the casket of their be- 
loved friend — stood uncovered and equal in the presence of the 
mighty dead." 

One of the truest pictures of perfect devotion was that of Mr. 
Thomas Dunham, who never left Mr. Jones from the time he died 
until he was placed in the vault at Westview. Tom Dunham had 
only two objects in life for the past twenty years — to be near Sam 
Jones and to be of service to him, and when the object of that un- 
failing devotion died he felt the world to be a void. He was con- 
verted under Mr. Jones's ministry in the great Cincinnati meeting, 
and since that day has been one of his most devoted friends, and a 
real "body- friend." While his devotion during Mr. Jones's life was 
something remarkable, it was not until his death that it was per- 
fected. All the way from Memphis he stood at the head of the 
casket, and, without eating or sleeping, gazed upon it almost every 
moment. 



BOOK THREE 



The End 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



The: Funeral Service. 

The funeral service of Mr. Jones was conducted in the Carters- 
ville Tabernacle. There was no church large enough to accommo- 
date the thousands that had come to pay their last tribute to his 
memory. It was very appropriate that this service should be held 
in the Sam Jones Tabernacle, as Mr. Jones had built it, and for 
twenty years had held annual evangelistic services there. 

Two special trains bearing Atlanta people arrived about noon. 
Every regular train which arrived in Cartersville was crowded with 
persons from all parts of the South. Among these were many 
prominent people and personal friends. 

The funeral march was completed a few minutes after two 
o'clock, and soon began to move towards the Tabernacle. Delega- 
tions from secret orders to which Mr. Jones belonged composed the 
honorary escort and led the procession. The Rome Commander}' 
of Knights Templar and local lodges of Masons and Knights of 
Pythias were well represented. 

Following the fraternal orders were the honorary pallbearers, 
which followed the hearse, lined on each side by the active pall- 
bearers ; then the carriages, which were arranged in the following 
order as far as the seventh : 

The first five carriages contained the immediate family and rela- 
tives and close friends. The sixth and seventh carriages, Bishop 
Galloway and the ministers who were to assist in the funeral service. 

The line of march was direct from, the residence to the Tabernacle. 
A block from the home several hundred schoolchildren entered 
the funeral procession, accompanied by the members of the school 
board. 

The ministers of the town were the honorary pallbearers. The 

(347) . 



348 Sam P. Jones. 

active ones were John S. Leake, L. S. Munford, W. H. Howard,. 
Jno. H. Wikle, Jas. W. Knight, J. W. Vaughn, Dr. R. J. Trippe^ 
Robert Milan, J. C. Wofford and Mayor Paul Gilreath. 

The great Tabernacle was appropriately draped, and presented a 
sad spectacle. Every available seat was taken by those who had been 
thronging the city all day from all sections of the country, and from 
various parts of the county. 

Special provision was made at the Tabernacle for the colored 
people. Many of them failed to get a seat, and stood around the 
building. The colored people of Cartersville loved Mr. Jones as 
devotedly as the white people, and they were glad for the privilege 
of attending the service. When one of the preachers mentioned his- 
triumphant entrance to glory, some of the faithful old servants 
were heard to shout "Glory to God." 

The casket was placed on the platform, where Mr. Jones had de- 
livered his last sermon a few weeks before, and was covered with 
flowers which had been sent by loving friends. 

The Scripture reading, as the remains entered the Tabernacle,, 
was by Rev. G. W. Duval, his pastor. The first song was "How 
Firm a Foundation," which was announced by Rev. McRee, his 
presiding elder. 

The Old Testament lesson was read by Rev. J. E. Barnard, pastor 
of the Cartersville Baptist church. 

The New Testament lesson was read by Rev. W. E. Cleveland,., 
pastor of the Presbyterian church here. 

The prayer was made by Rev. J. A. Bowen, of Winona, Miss.,, 
a life-long friend. 

The quartette, consisting of Mr. E. O. Excell, Charlie D. Till- 
man, French E. Oliver and Edwin R. Smoot, sang Mr. Jones's 
favorite gospel song, "The Old-Fashioned Way." 

The first address was made by Rev. Walt Holcomb, in which he- 
gave an account of his last work and death. 

The next tribute was delivered by Rev. Geo. R. Stuart, who- 
spoke of the years of his association with Mr. Jones. 

By special request, Judge John W. Akin, of Cartersville, Georgia, 
one of the foremost lawyers of Georgia, sometime President ot 



Sam P. Jones. t -w ... 3 4Q 

the Georgia Bar Association, Representative for five years from. 
Bartow county and Senator-elect from the district in which Mr- 
Jones resided, then spoke of "Sam Jones, the Citizen," as follows :: 

"The Dead Soldier of the Cross comes home." 

"From churches, splendid and lowly; from tabernacles and bush 
arbors and amphitheaters; from the lecture platform and the pul- 
pit; the 'Dead Soldier of the Cross comes home.' 

"From the soft winds of Florida, which blow through the jasa- 
mine and the magnolia ; from, the far white fields of Canada,, where 
the Ice King reigns; from the Empire of the West, where the 
mighty Pacific 'breaks on Calif ornian and Oregonian shores ; from 
the snow-crowned peaks and wondrous beauty of the Rocky Moun- 
tains ; from where the blue-green flood of the great Columbia rushes 
through the Cascades down to the caverns of the deep; from the 
•Rio Grande, pouring its yellow flood into the emerald bosom of the 
Gulf of Mexico; from Minneapolis and New Orleans; from New 
York and San Francisco; from Chicago and St. Louis and Cincin- 
nati ; from the throbbing capital of the new-made State, the thriving, 
bustling, busy Oklahoma, where his last great work was done ; from 
the hundreds of cities and towns and villages and hamlets where 
unnumbered multitudes hung upon his words and were moved to 
better things; from the far, wide fields in which with shield and 
sword he fought stout battles for God and humanity ; from all these, 
the 'Dead Soldier of the Cross comes home.' 

"He. comes to his own people; to those who knew him longest 
and who knew him best ; to those, as may be seen from, the tearful 
eyes and heard in the muffled sobs of this mighty throng before me 
now, who loved him as Friend, as Companion, as Brother. 

"He comes to the old county of Bartow in the older State of 
Georgia ; where the ashes of his father rest ; where his kindred and 
friends who dropped by the wayside before him have gone to sleep ; 
where the beautiful Etowah ripples and murmurs through hills and 
valleys ; and where old Pine Log Mountain, a silent sentinel voice- 
less but grand, stands out against the rising sun like some giant 
sapphire, cameo-cut, in the reddening glory of the opening day. 



350 Sam P. Jones. 

"To this, the 'Sam Jones Tabernacle/ his own handiwork, from 
beneath whose ample roof thousands have gone forth quickened 
to higher impulses and moved to a, nobler life ; to> white-haired men ; 
to women tottering with age ; to those in the full strength of mature 
years; to young men and maidens blossoming out of youth; to 
little children, their prattle hardly ceased; to these thousands of all 
ages and conditions, stunned into the numbness of grief by the 
shock of his sudden death within one moon of that last Sunday 
of the last of his twenty-one Tabernacle meetings on this spot, 
where the largest audience ever gathered here saw him, strong, 
sturdy, full of life and vigor, with wondrous voice and flashing 
eye, and heard him preach as only the one Sam Jones could preach ; 
to this vast throng and to this hallowed spot, the 'Dead Soldier of 
the Cross comes home.' 

"I would that I might speak of him, as one may speak of 
another whose years of neighborly intimacy and friendship have 
made him know that other's mind and heart. I would that I might 
tell the instances in his life, showing the many-sidedness of the 
man; of his qualities as husband and father, friend and neighbor, 
lecturer and preacher. I would that I might tell of the pleasant 
and, to me, instructive social intercourse between us ; of our inter- 
change of thought on things temporal and eternal ; of the new rev- 
elations of his brightness, his wisdom, his goodness, his genius, 
which our friendship gave me occasion to know, as I saw more and 
more of his inner mind and heart. But the limitations of this hour 
forbid. 

"I am to speak of this Shakespeare of the pulpit in his character 
of Citizen. 

"It is a great word' — 'Citizen.' The ancient Romans had some 
idea of the greatness of the citizen when they formed from the 
same root the two words, Citizen and State. The multitudinous 
oppressed and despised of France had some notion of its importance 
when, in the blood and fury of the Revolution of 1789, they sought 
to abolish all titles except this one — 'Citizen' — which they decreed 
should be bestowed alike upon all. So, when we wish to dignify 



Sam P. Jone;s. 351 

the office of President of this great Union, we speak of him as the 
First Citizen of the Republic. 

"To be a good citizen is to contain within one's self the sum of 
all the virtues. One may be a good father, husband, brother, son, 
church-member, neighbor, friend, without being a good citizen; 
•but no one can be a good citizen without being all of these and more. 
The good citizen obeys the law and practices all civic and personal 
virtues, helps others, strives to raise not only the individual but also 
the mass, puts his shoulder to the wheel of every enterprise designed 
for public good, interests himself in the Republic, the State, the 
county and the town in which he lives, selects, the best candidates 
and the best platforms and helps to vote them into' office, condemns 
public wrong and sustains public right, is willing to fight — aye, 
if necessary, to die — for his country and the right. It is of such 
stuff that heroes are made; not only those who die in battle, but 
also — what is often harder — those who, amid difficulties and dangers 
and conflicts, to struggle for the bettering of the people and the 
uplifting of the State. 

"Few men can bear this test. Many — I believe, the major- 
ity — strive to reach some such ideal. Most, perhaps all, fall short 
of this goal of the Perfect Citizen. 

"Measured by this standard, tested with this rule, this remarkable 
man whose tenement of clay lies before us draped with the white- 
and-black emblems of death was of lofty stature. If not the Per- 
fect, he was at least the Commanding and Conspicuous Citizen. 

"Some men, illustrious away from: home, are at home incanse- 
quential figures. Some indeed are greater the farther from home 
they are. But Sam Jones, the Citizen, was greatest here — in the 
homes and on the streets of Carters ville, amid the people of Bartow 
county. 

"What shall I say of him as Citizen? Ask the men who stood 
for law and order in this county in times bygone, when activity, 
zeal and courage were needed most for the public weal. Ask the 
men, in the church and out of it, some of whom yet bear scars of 
that conflict when the great fight was being fought out in this 
county, victory in which drove barrooms from the soil of Bartow 



352 Sam P. Jonss. 

forever. Ask those friends and fellow battlers in that cause who 
know what dangers he risked and faced at the hands of misguided 
men, who later recognized his valor, his faithfulness and his right- 
eousness. 

What shall I say of him as a Citizen? He stood for the right, 
as God gave him to see the right, in all departments of human life 
and endeavor. He hated sin, public and private. He hated stin- 
giness and meanness and smallness in the private citizen as well as in 
the public official. He may have made mistakes. He may have 
misjudged parties and policies and their representatives. He may 
have been deecived by men and associations of men. But he tried 
to see the right; and in that effort of mental vision, he had an instinct 
for truth and good far beyond that of most men. 
f "He loved Tightness and he hated wrongness. His perception of 
the moral qualities of human conduct was so keen and sharp as to 
seem instinctive. And perhaps it was instinctive. We know not, in 
Its entirety, the source and cause of the individual consciousness of 
tight and wrong. But reason, no less than human experience, 
demonstrates the fact that, in spite of environment and education, 
there is in some men more than in others a born intuition of such 
principles. This born intuition as to right and wrong differentiated 
the moral perception of Mr. Jones from that of the vast majority 
of mankind. 

" Armed with this marvelous intuition, he recognized as a citizen 
the expression of right and wrong in the conduct of men. He saw 
this, as it were, by the lightning flash of truth through the storms 
and clouds of men's passions. 

"And when he saw it, he never faltered or wavered. At once he 
reached down a helping hand to lift up the right and the right-doer. 
At once he struck out boldly at the wrong and the wrong-doer. In 
neither case did he aim at the individual except as the individual 
was the means through which right was to triumph or wrong was 
to crush. Thus it is that wrong-doers whose evil works he de- 
nounced in pulpit or on platform with tongue of fire, while often 
for the time-being enraged, in the end frequently — nay, with prac- 
tical unanimity — came to like him and to admire him. His life's 



Sam P. Jones. 353 

work is full of illustrations of this truth. It is absolutely true that 
nothing of personal animosity against the individual who did the 
wrong inspired his invective or rankled in his breast. It was the 
thing he aimed at — not the man. It was wrong-doing and evil- 
living and such misconduct as flows from a life dominated by these 
things — it was this, and this only, which he abhorred and despised 
even unto the white heat of righteous indignation. Like the Master 
whom he served, he hated the sin, he loved the sinner. And when 
the sinner turned about and set his face to the light of righteous- 
ness, he had no more kind, sympathetic and helpful friend than Sam 
Jones. 

"It is of these principles put in action by him as a citizen that I 
would speak to this vast and sorrowing throng, so many of whom 
knew him, admired him, loved him. And, as related to his character 
as a citizen, I would speak of one other phase of mind and heart 
in which he was remarkably like some of the greatest men of all 
times. It is this: While he was sometimes mistaken in the man, 
he rarely misjudged the mass. While he was occasionally deceived 
by the shrewd and designing as to their real character and motives, 
yet he never misjudged human nature in its entirety nor as to its 
tendency. It is needless to seek reasons for this psychologic atti- 
tude. One familiar with biography will recall many remarkable ex- 
amples of similar trend. Who can forget the numerous instances 
where the great Napoleon selected for his deepest confidence and 
his most important offices men whose real character, as shown by 
subsequent events, he entirely misjudged. Yet who more clearly 
and instinctively than Napoleon perceived the real nature, the real 
desires, the real passions, the real tendencies and the real character 
of that great nation which bore in victory the Eagles of the Empire 
on every battlefield of Europe ? 

"Let me add that the one evil which he fought hardest and 
longest and bravest was the monstrous evil of whisky. He de- 
nounced all the concrete sins. He was an enemy to gambling, 
social and commercial, to lewdness of thought and of life, to cov- 
etousness, to profanity, to immorality of every sort. But never 
-did he wield sword so deadly or give blows so vigorously, so un- 



354 Sam P. Jones. 

compromisingly, as when he struck at the unmitigated and inex- 
pressible evils of whisky and whisky-drinking. In this he spared 
no opponent, improved every chance of attack, drove to the hilt 
his sword, asked no quarter, and refused all compromise. What- 
ever the future may have in store for the liquor traffic, its defenders 
and apologists may rejoice that Sam Jones's voice is hushed and 
his tongue silent. And yet, like the spirit of the martyrs, this voice 
will not be silent ; for in the memories of those who heard him, and 
in the minds of those who will read his sermons and lectures and 
speeches, now that he is gone, the Lucifer of Rum may yet find an 
Archangel Michael, the brightness of whose sword and shield not 
even the gates of death can entirely obscure. 

"Once more I ask myself, what shall I say of him as a citizen" 
Alas, alas, how vain are words ! And yet I can not leave this plat- 
form without saying something about this loved and loving man 
which comes very close to the hearts of many in this hushed and 
reverential throng who felt not merely the greatness, but the sweet- 
ness and tenderness of this, the First Citizen of our county and our 
town. His labors kept him away from us most of his time. When 
here, it was generally for a few days only. Yet he did not come 
home without asking as soon as he came who was sick, who was 
in trouble, who was afflicted and sorrowful among the people of his 
own community. And when he found the homes into which death 
or sorrow or sickness or affliction of an)^ sort had come, he straight- 
way knocked on the door of that home. He entered that home. 
He brought brightness and cheer and comfort and good-fellowship 
to that home. He soothed the sorrowing. He comforted the 
afflicted. He read the Bible to the sick and prayed for them. 

"Not only this ; but these Christ-like attentions to men and 
women and children were not confined to those who lived in fine 
houses and wore fine clothes. He entered the homes of the poor, 
the humble and the lowly. He went into log cabins with puncheon 
floors, and cracks in the walls through which the winter wind 
whistled. He put his gentle hand on fevered heads resting some- 
times on a straw mattress without a pillow. In such homes he left 
not only kind words, but bread and meat and medicine. He not 



Sam P. Jones. 355 

only prayed, but he sent the doctor. Of many such cases I know 
myself. Of others I have heard' — rarely from him, and then only 
incidentally. 

"Social generally he was not. He had no time. His life was 
filled with other and greater things. But while he neglected — for 
very lack of time, if for no other reason — what some may call the 
requirements of social life, he did not neglect those who needed his 
visits, his attentions, his kindness. 

"Of Jesus we read in the Gospel that 'the common people heard 
him gladly/ If this be the test of the divine character of one's 
message, then the message delivered by Sam Jones was divine ; 
for surely nowhere for many, many years has there been one whom 
'the common people heard' more gladly than they heard Sam Jones. 
He understood them. He sympathized with them. He had com- 
passion upon them. 

"And this compassion expressed itself not alone by word of mouth 
in pulpit and tabernacle. It made itself felt in the gentle, unob- 
trusive ministrations of which I have just spoken. 

"You will forgive me for thinking, as I speak these words, of how 
he came to me and to my home when I was so long under the 
shadow of affliction; of how his visits brightened and cheered; 
of how his humor beguiled away pain of body ; of how like one of 
God's ministering angels he was. Is it possible that I shall not hear 
him speak again — that I shall not behold the flash of his wonder- 
ful eye, nor see him smile in that way of his so charming, nor shake 
his hand? Ah, Science stands helpless and heartless at the grave. 
But there is something stronger and higher than science and reason. 
Faith speaks, and I listen ! 

"This is no time to take his measure. It is not needful; and if 
it were, we do not know as yet how to measure- him. He is too 
close to us. We can not even realize that he is dead, as men say. 
We must see him: in the perspective. Perhaps we shall not see his 
perspective at all. Perhaps this; will be left to other generations. 

"Those who live at the foot of the mountain rarely look upon it or 
think of its beauty, its grandeur and sublimity. They can not. 
They are too close to it. The Swiss cottagers, dwelling as their 



356 Sam P. Jones. 

fathers did before them among the Alps, never think to look up 
toward the heavens and see the white beauty of the Matterhorn's 
icy peaks piercing the blue of heaven and reflecting the red glory 
of the setting sun, after night has fallen and the stars are shining- 
down upon the simple peasants in the valleys far below. They 
are too near to the Matterhorn. They have lived too long in sight. 
of its surpassing beauty. 

"May it not be so with us, as to the character and attainments 
of this man whom we memoralize to-day? It is, as it were, but 
yesterday that we heard him speak, that we shook hands with him,, 
that we met him on the street, that we talked with him and that. 
he talked to us. It is only a few years — so swift does time run 
by — that he was unknown beyond the limits of the first humble- 
circuit which he traveled as a Methodist itinerant. Even while- 
applauding multitudes have grown and grown in numbers as his 
fame deepened, broadened and widened; yet it is but truth to say 
that few, if any, have yet read and studied with sufficiently thought- 
ful criticism his sermons, so remarkable for their simplicity of 
thought and word, and also for the hold which they take upon the 
reader ; of his witticisms, maxims and proverbs, the pungent strength 
of which may not be seen without reading and rereading; of the 
philosophy of his thought upon things religious; of the wondrous- 
versatility of his talent; of his undoubted genius. 

"We may be the Swiss peasants living far down in the valley,, 
looking on the commonplace things of life, seeing only the- 
lines of local environment. We may now and then glance upward 
at the mountain and wonder, perhaps, how high it is and how far 
above us are its dazzling caps of snow; and then turn back to the 
narrow current of our lives. 

"And so I ask myself the question, will not multitudes yet un- 
born look upon this Matterhorn and see it towering up, and up, and 
up, far away into the skies, and gaze with rapt vision upon the 
splendor of its lofty crest, white and beautiful beyond our power 
to see or know?" 

The funeral oration was delivered by Bishop Chas. B. Galloway* 



Sam P. Jones. 357' 

a life-long friend and a great admirer of Mr. Jones. His splendid: 
tribute is given in full. 

"I am here not to eulogize the distinguished dead, but to lay a, 
flower upon the grave of a personal friend, and pay grateful 
tribute to the memory of a most remarkable man. I have come 
'to weep with those that weep/ A great State has lost its best 
known citizen, a great church its most popular and powerful 
preacher, the nation its most noted evangelist, and the cause of 
public morality one of its mightiest and most fearless champions. 
In the strength of his years when his sun was at the zenith, before his - 
powers had begun to fail, or his voice to lose its charm, this great 
man in Israel has been summoned to his rich reward. 

"What strange paradoxes were wrapped up in that masterful 
man and his brilliant career. He was a genius without eccentricity,, 
a great personality without peculiarities, unique without being 
erratic, a wonderful orator without the graces of oratory, a marvel- 
ous preacher with little concern for the rules of homiletics, and 
a philosopher without the aid of a pale guide and a student's lamp.. 

"He had all the gifts, without the cultivation, of a great 
philosopher. What he lacked in learning was made up in the 
keen penetration and clear discernment of a student of human 
nature. If limited in his familiarity with history, he knew the- 
forces that make history and determine destiny. 

"Had his knowledge of books equaled his acquaintance with 
men — had he known the history of the human heart as well as 
he knew its great motives and subtle passions — he might have 
commanded a much larger place in the story of his times. 

"He had many rare qualities and attractive virtues, but one great 
gift — the gift of commanding utterance. And upon that his fame 
will rest and his influence abide. His pre-eminence was as a 
preacher. God anointed him to be a prophet in Israel, and clothed' 
him with a power seen but a few times in a generation. He was 
not called to wield a pen, but to be a voice crying in the wilderness. 
He might have succeeded at the bar, but his throne was the pulpit, , 
and his mission the redemption of his fellow men. 

"And what a master of assemblies he was! Measured by the* 



358 Sam P. Jonss. 

multiplied thousands that crowded again and again to hear him, 
and by the dead consciences he awakened, and the penitential tears 
he started, and the high purposes he inspired, and the reforms he 
instituted, and the converted souls he led to his Lord, he must 
go down in history as one of the most conspicuous figures of the 
last half century. 

"Were I called upon to state, in a few words, the qualities that 
gave greatness to this master of assemblies, and enabled him to 
sway with the wand of a magician the vast thousands that crowded 
to his ministry, I should say they were his philosophical insight 
into the secret springs of motive, his power of lucid and luminous 
statement, his rare, genial humor, the breadth and wealth of his 
genuine love for humanity, and the marvelous qualities of his 
wonderful voice — all under the domination and inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit. 

"He s,aid more quotable things than any man of his generation. 
There are few homes in which some saying of his is not repeated 
He had a genius for proverb-making. 

"I believe that one secret of his strange power as a preacher 
was the fact that all his appeals were directly to the human 
conscience. His theory was that the conscience was on the same 
level, whether in a philosopher or a child — whether in a.schola- 
or an illiterate. And that the message needed to arouse the one 
could not fail to awaken the other. Therefore, like St. Paul, he 
felt himself a debtor to the Greek and the barbarian, to the wise 
and the unwise. 

"He demonstrated the fact that the day of the preacher and 
public speaker had not passed. The living voice is as potential 
to-day as ever in the world's history. The printed page may inform 
the mind, but the living messenger is necessary to kindle passion 
and urge men to action. The preaching function of the priesthood 
can never lose its authority. As in the olden times, when Isaiah's 
voice was heard in Israel, and Paul preached on Mars Hill, the 
divinely called man with a message will ever be the mightiest force 
in his generation. 



c-> 



His life of almost unexampled activity was dominated b 



v one 



Sam P. JonSS. 359 

high and holy purpose — to do good to his fellow men and faithfully 
serve his generation by the will of God. From that purpose he was 
never deflected, and from God's service his heart never felt the 
slightest alienation. To that high aim every ambition was 
subordinated, and every energy put in commission. 

"Believing that Providence had clearly indicated his field of 
largest usefulness, to be unconfined by the narrow limits of a local 
pastorate, he retired from the regular itinerant ministry, and made 
the nation his parish. Whatever the judgment of others as to the 
wisdom of that course, he never doubted that God had ordered it 
and His blessings would approve it. In every State of the Union 
his voice was heard by eager thousands, preaching with the same 
fearless fidelity and Christly sympathy as to the humble friends and 
neighbors on his first Georgia circuit. 

"Without attempting any recital of the facts of a brilliant history, 
I shall merely mention a few features of a noble character. 

"First of all, because above all and best of all, our honored 
brother was remarkable for the strength and solidity of his* moral 
character. There was granite in its foundations, and every living 
stone was polished after the similitude of a palace. Flaws there 
may have been, but no fissures — discolorations, but no suggestion 
of disintegration. The storms of life sometimes strained, but never 
moved it. The rains descended, the floods came and the winds 
blew, but when the sky had cleared he stood unshaken and majestic 
as a mighty mountain. However much men may have criticised his 
utterances, or questioned the wisdom of his policies, no one ever 
doubted the integrity and purity of his character. Had there been 
in it any serious weakness, some curious or critical or envious eye 
would have quickly discovered it and loudly proclaimed it, but 
throughout his brilliant career, every hour in the fierce public glare, 
his mission and methods as a reformer inviting and encountering 
stubborn hostility, he fought and wrought and finally died, without 
the faintest shadow on his beautiful character. There were notches 
on his trusty blade, but not a blur on his noble name. 

"He genuinely loved his fellow men, and never lost hope for hu- 
manity. He believed in a gospel that can redeem a world, and like 



•360 Sam P. Jonss. 

his Lord, he went out to seek and save the lost. And no poor 
prodigal ever got so low or wandered so far as to be beyond the 
reach of his hopeful message and helpful sympathy. And that 
made the world love him so. There is nothing more divinely 
attractive than the radiance of hope, and nothing more cheerless 
and forbidding than the notes of discouragement and despair. Tell 
;a poor, blasted, blistered soul that there is hope for him, and his 
wailings will turn to pleadings, and his despair into the tones of 
prevailing prayer. It was this ever-reiterated gospel for the worst 
sinner that helped to attract the thousands to his ministry. 

"The bells of St. Michael's, in Charleston, S. C, that have chimed 
the hours of morning and evening prayer since Colonial times, have 
-a strange history. They have crossed the Atlantic ocean five times. 
During the Civil War they were shipped to Columbia for safe- 
keeping. But on a certain famous march to the sea they were 
burned and broken into fragments by the hands of a vandal. Every 
sacred piece was gathered up, and all shipped back to the foundry 
in which they were originally cast. There they were made anew 
-and brought home to the tower of St. Michael's without the loss of 
a single note or the lowering of a single majestic tone. 

"Thus, this good man believed God could do with every sinful, 
broken human life. Gather up scarred and scattered fragments, 
make them anew in His image, and put cathedral music into the 
redeemed soul. 

"His moral courage was nothing less than sublime. What he 
conceived to be the path of duty he would pursue, though a lion 
crouched in the shadow of every tree. No threat of man, or fear 
of all the legions of darkness, could stay his course or hush his 
imperial voice. And yet there was in him nothing of rashness, 
and he never spoke without premeditation. His was not a harsh, 
but a gentle nature. He had a strong, soft hand. The tones of 
his voice were authoritative, but the undertones were gentleness 
and love. Though he sometimes showed the sternness of a Hebrew 
prophet, he really had the tenderness and sweet persuasiveness of 
an apostle. Who but this master of the human heart could unite 
such startling and overwhelming plainness of speech with lyric 




REV. JOB JONES, MR, JONES' BROTHER. 



Sam P. Jones. 361- 

tenderness and irresistible persuasiveness! With a sternness that 
was at times as awful as Sinai, he united a pathos that made every 
eye a fountain of tears. 

"If he sometimes used the muck-rake, it was not simply to expose 
the rottenness of society and the wickedness of the world, but that 
the healing light of the truth might shine upon and cure it. He 
uncovered sin that it might be destroyed. He rent the robe of 
hypocrisy that its ghastly deformity might cease to deceive. But 
for every penitent he had a mantle of charity, and for every home- 
coming prodigal a joyous welcome. 

"He was free from the weaknesses and vices of narrow natures. 
His great soul was too generous for jealousy and too broad for 
bigotry. Envy found no hiding-place in his brotherly and sunny 
heart. He coveted no man's position or possessions, and envied no 
human being his fame or his fortune. It never occurred to him 
that any rival stood in the way of his attainments or achievements. 
No Mordecai sat in the gateway of his noble soul. He rejoiced 
that the world is wide, with an inviting field for every honest toiler^ 
and ample reward for every faithful workman; that there is a 
chaplet for every heroic brow, and a throne for every really royal 
soul. While deeply appreciative of his large place in the nation's 
esteem — pardonably proud of his wonderful and long-sustained 
popularity — he generously rejoiced in the honors and success of 
every worthy man. I never heard him speak a disparaging word of 
any mortal who had high aims and a serious purpose. His generous 
hand would have withered had he attempted to pluck a star from 
another's crown. Such magnanimity is one of the final tests of 
true greatness. 

"But time fails me to speak more at length of my glorified friend. 
We would fain have kept him longer, but the Lord knew best. His 
was a life that can not go out ; it will go on. 

"The end came, not exactly as he had hoped, but as beautifully 
and triumphantly as any heart could wish. It was just after a great: 
revival in which, as on so many notable occasions, God had wonder- 
fully honored his ministry. With the tears of a penitent still 
gladdening his eyes, the tired preacher was told that it is time to 



362 Sam P. JonSS. 

rest. Between a revival and an expected family reunion, the angels 
met him and carried him to the house of many mansions. In that 
heavenly home may there be no vacant chair !" 

At the close of Bishop Galloway's address the quartette sang 
"My Heavenly Father Knows," 

The closing prayer was by Rev. John D. Culpepper, Iuka, Miss., 
who was associated with Mr. Jones in some of his evangelistic 
meetings. 

Bishop Galloway pronounced the benediction. 

After the ceremonies the remains were carried back to the home 
and remained there until Friday morning, when his body was re- 
moved to Atlanta. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Body Li£s in State: in Atlanta. 

The Atlanta people, who felt such a loss at Mr. Jones's death, 
desired an opportunity to see him before his burial. The General 
Council of the city met and adopted the following resolutions : 

"Whereas, We have learned with profound sorrow of the sud- 
den death of Rev. Sam P. Jones ; and 

"Whereas, He was much beloved by our citizens, because of his 
constant interest in the upbuilding of our city and his many efforts 
to advance and improve its social and moral condition, and our peo- 
ple desire to pay tribute to his memory and to testify to their regard 
for him and his work ; therefore, be it 

"Resolved, by the Mayor and General Council, That we extend 
to his family this formal expression of our sincere sympathy, and 
that we feel a personal bereavement by his death ; be it further 

"Resolved, That we request his family to permit his body to lie 
in state in the Capitol of Georgia that his thousands of friends may 
view his remains and give expression to their appreciation of his 
life and service." 

On motion of Councilman Wikle, the following committee was 
appointed to go to Cartersville to attend the funeral : 

Councilmen Wikle, Patterson, Martin, Terrell and Foster, and 
Aldermen Quillian and Harwell. 

In response to this earnest request, his body was carried to At- 
lanta the morning after the funeral. 

The special train left Cartersville at eight-thirty o'clock. Mr. 
John Welch, the engineer, upon whose engine Mr. Jones had ridden 
so many times, and who himself was one of Mr. Jones's oldest 
friends, pulled the throttle. Mrs. Welch rode on the engine with 
her husband. They had draped the engine in black and white, and 

(363) 



364 Sam P. Jones. 

in front of the engine, just under the headlight, was a life-sized 
■portrait of Mr. Jones appropriately draped. 

The casket was borne to the train by the pallbearers who as- 
sisted at the funeral, and who accompanied the remains to Atlanta. 

At least two thousand people were gathered at the depot when 
the special left. A great many close and intimate friends from 
Cartersville and Atlanta followed the remains to the city. As the 
train started off many were in tears. Mr. Jones was something 
more to Cartersville than the great revivalist ; he had been a friend 
and neighbor. 

All along the way at each station great crowds assembled to see 
the train go by. 

At ten-thirty o'clock the party arrived in Atlanta. Two hours 
before the arrival of the train a throng of people began to gather. 
They stood about the depot, on the streets, and lined up on the via- 
duct under which the special train passed. As the muffled whistle 
announced the arrival of the train, the people uncovered their heads 
and stood reverently around the station, on the viaduct and in the 
streets. 

The local ministers and a committee of the Council appointed to 
have charge of the body while in Atlanta met the train. The com- 
mittee stood on each side of the depot entrance, the ministers to the 
light, and the prominent citizens to the left. The floral offerings, 
consisting of roses, chrysanthemums, orchids, and many other 
flowers, had been fashioned into wreaths, crosses, and other designs, 
were first removed from the baggage-car. Through the passage- 
way the pallbearers bore the casket, covered with floral offerings, 
to the hearse, which Mr. Patterson, the undertaker, had waiting 
outside. 

The family and friends of Mr. Jones was then directed to car- 
riages. Mrs. Jones and the family were driven to the home of Mr. 
R. P. Milan, while the body was taken to the Capitol. 

The cortege proceeded slowly through a dense crowd up Pryor 
to Decatur street, thence to Peachtree, along Whitehall to Mitchell, 
and across Mitchell to Washington street and the entrance to the 
Capitol. 



Sam P. Jones. 365 

All along the streets people bowed their heads out of respect to 
the memory of Mr. Jones. Waiting at the Capitol was even a 
greater throng than that which had been at the station, and upon the 
streets. One of the most touching scenes was when Rev. H. L,. 
•Crumley, Superintendent of the Decatur Orphan's Home, with a 
dozen or more little girls wearing the blue uniform of the institu- 
tion, walked down from the Capitol to the street with their arms full 
of flowers. The pallbearers removed the casket to the Capitol. 
The orphan children followed close by. The casket was placed 
under the great dome of the Capitol, where hung the life-sized 
ipaintings of Toombs, Stephens, Grady, Hill, Gordon, and other 
^distinguished men. Mr. Jones had been personally acquainted with 
many of these great men of Georgia, and held them in the highest 
esteem, while they appreciated his ability and work as a minister. 

When the casket was placed in the center of the Capitol building, 
while the thousands of people filled the rotunda and every entrance, 
waiting for a chance to take a last look at the quiet features of the 
beloved dead, Rev. French E. Oliver, of Chicago, a co-worker of 
Mr. Jones, and an intimate friend, standing at the head of the cas- 
ket, paid the following tribute to the memory of his departed friend : 

"Rev. Sam P. Jones was the greatest admixture of contrast that 
ever combined in one human being, so far as my reading, observa- 
tion or personal acquaintance can gauge. He had the dauntless 
courage of a thousand brave men, and the sympathy and tenderness 
of the sweetest woman. He was the great diagnostician, studying 
the pathology of the pandemics, endemics and epidemics of mankind, 
morally and religiously. Then he became a master surgeon, driving 
the scalpel into the diseased parts, causing excruciating pains to the 
one into whom he drove the instrument — but he was in the next 
moment the soft-handed, sweet-voiced nurse, administering the 
balms and tonics to the suffering sinner. 

"He was a whole fearless regiment, sweeping across the battle- 
field with cyclonic fury, leaving the field strewn with the wounded 
and dying ; then he was the whole Red Cross society, following in 
the wake of the caustic cataclysm, bringing the comfort of a thou- 
sand loves to the aching hearts. Brother Jones never gave a thorn 



366 Sam P. Jon£S. 

without a rose ; he never gave honey-comb without the honey ; he 
never hurt a man in this world, in his great ministerial career, but 
for the purpose of tearing off the mask and allowing men to see 
themselves. 

"To him the pulpit was no gilded prison cell in which to palaver, 
palliate or pander. He had no fear of poignant persecution, no bow 
to make before a reprobate task-master, ruling a degenerate company 
of pulpit puppets with a rod of gold. While some pulpits dealt in 
painted fire, Sam Jones dealt in real fire. Irrevocable conviction 
swept him into a relentless warfare, where he did more to strengthen 
the backbone of the American preachers than any man who has ever 
labored in this country. To him — as he told me a few weeks ago in 
his home — the pulpit was a throne, whereupon he was called to sway 
his scepter of righteousness, love and faithfulness. 

"He had the conviction that he was sent of God — I know he was ! 
To this age when cowardice, superficialities, poltroonism, policy- 
seeking and infidelity surged like billows over the religious as well 
as the political life of our nation, he was as truly God's prophet say- 
ing, 'Thou art the man' as was Nathan in his day. His strength can 
only be measured by the burden he bore. The cross that he bore was 
heavy ; he suffered pains which would have made a giant crouch and 
cower like a belabored hound — but he bore them as a prince of 
Israel, which he was. I heard him tell recently how the sorrows of 
the grave encompassed him, and when it seemed that his goal was 
despair, God seemed to speak audibly to him these words : 

" 'When through the waters I cause thee to go, 
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow, 
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless 
And sanctify to thee, thy deepest distress.' 

and when he turned and told his precious wife the answer of God to 
his heart, she said : 'My darling, God gave me the same words at the 
same moment.' 

"I know how mellow his great heart was. I have prayed and 
wept with him in his own home, where the evidences of weakness or 



Sam P. Jones. 367 

strength in any man are exhibited. He showed that he was a tower 
of strength ; he fought a good fight ; he finished his course. The in- 
trepid warrior has faced earth's last battlefield. To-day he is wear- 
ing a crown which God gave him when he lifted the cross from his 
tired shoulders. He has met Jesus Christ and God the father, and 
now he may be talking with Daniel, or Abraham, or Paul or John. 
■He has kissed his mother, and grasped his father's hand. His little 
babe which went before him has welcomed him into the city. Let an 
object pass one inch earthward or skyward at the point of equipoise 
where is registered the limit of the earth's attraction, as well as the 
limit of the sun's attraction, and instantly it will move earthward or 
sunward. Brother Jones reached that point in the spiritual firma- 
ment, for there is that point of spiritual equipoise between earth and 
heaven. Heaven's attraction drew him home to God forever." 

The body remained in the Capitol from eleven a.m. to four p.m. 
The people began to pass through the building, and there was a 
constant stream of humanity for five hours. As they took the last 
look at the man they loved many tears flowed down their cheeks, and 
with deep emotion they passed by, frequently speaking of how he 
had helped them in their lives. One good, earnest Christian woman, 
as she took her last look at him,, said, "Oh, I can't stand it," and 
as she walked away she fell toi the floor. She was hastily carried 
into the office of the Comptroller, and was laid upon a lounge, but 
was soon dead. She was a personal friend of Mr. Jones. 

It is estimated that at least thirty thousand people looked into' his 
face during the hours. Finally the doors were closed, and the Capitol 
grounds were soon crowded again, when the doors were reopened, 
and for ten minutes the people passed by the casket. If his body 
could have remained there during the evening hours, after the day's 
work had ended, there would have been not less than one hundred 
thousand people who would have looked into his calm and blessed 
face. 

The body was removed from the Capitol to the Westview 
Cemetery, the last funeral rite was read, and the casket placed in 
the vault to remain there until removed to the family vault in Car- 
tersville. 



368 Sam P. Jones. 



Sam Jones is Home. 

Across the fields the light is softly stealing — 

Sam Jones is home ! 
Though at the cross of pain sad ones are kneeling 

In sorrow's gloom, 
'Round God's great throne joy's songs are loudly pealing — 

That he is home ! 

States on his bier their wreaths of fame are placing ; 

And Time its home 
Has opened and Fame's fingers, his name tracing, 

Write him her own ; 
But Georgia's arms for all time are embracing 

Her son — at home. 

Sin-shattered hearts that knew him here are feeling 

The shadows lone — 
But, ah, look up ye, who in grief are kneeling, 

Ye hearts that mourn — 
Above the clouds which round you now are stealing — 

Sam Jones is home ! 

O. G. Cox. 




BISHOP CHAS. B. GA^OWAY 






REV. GEO. R. STUART. 



Mtmatwl §>nmt& 



A jmhltr tribute ttt % rijararter mxh utnrk af % late 

#attwrf p^rto jfmra 

JRgman Auditorium 

gumfcag afternoon, ($ttabn iumttg-ngljil} 
®«t0-tl|ttrtg 0*jrhtrk 



13 j 



Programme 



Bishop O. P. Fitzgerald, Chairman 

Mr. Allen G. Hall, Vice-Chairman, Presiding 

I. 

Music 

Invocation . . . . . . . Rev. Wm. T. Haggard 

II. 
(Orations 

" The Preacher" Rev. R. Lin Cave 

"The Man" . . . U. S. Senator Edward W. Carmack 

Music 
III. 

Rev. W. F. Tillett Prof. J. W. Brister 

Prof. J. J. Keys Hon. John Bell Keeble 

Music 
IV. 

Limited to those converted under Mr. Jones's preaching 

V. 

"His Last Days" Rev. Walt Holcomb 

Music 

VI. 
Invitation Dr. R. A. Torrey 

Doxology Benediction 

Bishop O. P. Fitzgerald 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



Mkmoriai, Tributes. 

There were memorial services held all over the country in honor 
of Mr. Jones, and beautiful tributes paid him by devoted friends. 
It has been impossible to speak of all these services, and publish the 
many tributes. We mention the services in Nashville, Chattanooga 
and Atlanta. These memorial services were held in the largest 
auditoriums in these cities. The immense throngs began to pour 
into the buildings soon after dinner, and sat from two to three 
and a half hours. While every available space was occupied, the 
people were turned away by the thousands at each place. 

The Nashville American, in speaking of the memorial services at 
the Jones-Ryman Auditorium, said : 

"No more magnificent tribute has ever been paid to the 
memory of any man, citizen, or soldier, by the people of 
this section, than the expression of love and honor to the life 
and character of Sam P. Jones, which they voiced at the 
Jones-Ryman Auditorium on Sunday afternoon. The number who 
came to pay tribute to this great man of God, to drop a tear upon 
his grave, to express a personal sympathy at his death, to testify 
to the great work for man and Christ that he had wrought upon 
the people, was limited alone by the capacity of the building in 
which the exercises were held. 

"The meeting was called to order and presided over by Dr. Allen 
G. Hall, moderator of the last General Assembly of the Southern 
Presbyterian Church. The invocation was offered by Rev. Wm. T. 
Haggard. 

"Rev. Lin Cave, of the Christian Church, was the first speaker, 
and paid a tribute to Mr. Jones as a preacher. He said : 

" 'My heart prompts me to say I speak to you with feelings of 

(371) 



372 Sam P. Jones. 

emotion. He to whose memory we pay grateful and loving tribute 
to-day was my friend, always ready to do me a kindness. Though 
not thrown into close social contact with him as were some of you, 
I loved him with a strong and steadfast affection. Death paints 
our loved ones in softer and fairer colors, and brings us to see, as 
we did not see before, 

"Their likeness to the wise below, 
Their kindred with the great of old." 

" 'And so to-day, with an affection sanctified and strengthened by 
sorrow, we appreciate his life and labors more highly than while 
he lived. I have been asked to speak of him as a preacher, and in 
doing so it is just and safe to say he stood among the foremost of 
his time. He was the best-known evangelist in this country, and 
ranks with the two or three best-known in the world to-day. He 
was wonderfully endowed by God, and has blessed and helped to 
save more people of all classes than perhaps any other preacher of 
this generation. He enjoyed unusual and widespread popularity, 
especially with the common people, and was greatly loved. While 
his body was in the Capitol at Atlanta for a few hours, it is esti- 
mated that fully thirty thousand persons came and looked on his 
face. If all who had been cheered, blessed and led by him to a 
better life could have followed his body to the grave, the cortege 
would have been one of the largest ever seen on such an occasion. 
It is justly claimed that to be a useful preacher, one must have 
piety, natural gifts and skill. By this measurement Sam Jones was 
one of the greatest and most useful preachers of any age. He was 
a good man, pure in heart and life, rich in natural gifts and unex- 
celled in skill and tact in the use of them. He was in no* sense a 
theologian; he rather hated theology. He cared little or nothing 
for creeds and the doctrines of men, but he loved Christ and 
Christianity. Theology, he said, was man-made. Christianity was 
of God. If I misrepresent Him, my brethren, call me down, for I 
have no desire to do Him any injustice. This enlarged his useful- 
ness and gave him such great power, far greater than I can fully 
describe. Let me give, instead, the estimate of a leading secular 



Sam P. Jones. 373 

journalist written some years ago: "If we were asked to analyze 
the power of Sam Jones we would say that the chief elements are 
clear mental vision, fearless soul, kind heart, and unbridled, witty 
tongue. His good eyes enable him to see the world just as it is — 
its sad things, its funny things, its sham things, its brutal things, 
its terrible things, its beautiful things. His fearless soul leads him 
to describe what he sees, and the immense force of truth and realism 
becomes his ally. His kind heart enables him to denounce, yet not 
drive away; to chastise, yet love; to punish, yet win the culprit. 
His want of reverence for others, their ways of speech and of life, 
unchains him from the shackles of cant, custom, routine, and con- 
ventionality. It frees him from imitation. He thus gets room for 
his own individuality to grow, his foundation to play. Being freed 
entirely from the chains which enslave so many thousands of public 
men, his genius shines like a star— inexhaustible, radiant." There 
never was but one Sam Jones. In speaking further of his great suc- 
cess and his influence as a preacher, I wish to say he. was abso- 
lutely fearless, a man of both moral and physical courage. He 
was ready at any time, and in any presence, to say what he be- 
lieved God wished him to say, and he would have said it in front 
of the cannon's mouth had he known that while speaking his body 
would be blown to atoms. I think we may apply to him the famous 
eulogy of Regent Murray at the grave of John Knox, "There lies 
he, who never feared the face of man.'' He was at the same 
time very humble. Notwithstanding his widespread popularity 
and vast personal influence he had the spirit of humility, and was 
always ready to yield his place if there was any one who could do 
better than himself. Again, as a preacher, he was intensely prac- 
tical and used present conditions and occasions with wonderful 
effect. He was thoroughly earnest. Abrupt, terse, vehement, fiery 
in style, his simple sentences at times were flashes of lightning in 
a dark night, his words volcanic explosions from a fire long burn- 
ing within, and all who heard them always felt their tremendous 
power. Some one who has drawn a distinction between Cicero and 
Demosthenes says when the former spoke people said, "How well 
Cicero speaks," while, when Demosthenes spoke, they said, "Let us 



374 Sam P. Jones. 

go against Philip." We may draw the same distinction between 
him and many other preachers. When people hear them they say, 
"How well they speak/' but when they heard him they were aroused 
and moved to say, "Let us go and fight the devil and all forms of 
sin." I have heard him at times in pathetic exhortation show such 
bursts of passionate grief for lost souls that men who had been un- 
touched and unmoved by others were made to tremble and weep as 
children. Finally, he was loving and full of sympathy for lost hu- 
manity, and all mankind. To strike and spare not, was the motto 
with which he faced the sinner. To help and rescue, was the sec- 
ond motto which redeemed the fearless first. He was as swift to 
succor as he was to smite. He was as tender in healing as he was 
terrible in arousement. He was full of the milk of human kind- 
ness, and was the enemy of no man. He loved God and his fellow- 
men, and those who abused him most bitterly will find out some 
day that he was their real friend, and always aimed to do them 
good. Some have criticised him for lack of refinement and his use 
of ridicule and irony. Elijah is a striking example of the use of 
ridicule in sacred discourse. He mocked the priests of Baal before 
all the people. Ridicule was to him a fair way to expose the ab- 
surdity of idolatry. All irreligion has aspects and elements that 
are absurd, and it is allowable and useful to show this by irony and 
ridicule. In Proverbs it is condemned as folly, and depicted with 
the keenest sarcasm, and there are slight touches of irony and scorn 
in the epistles of Paul. In my estimate of him, I do not forget the 
well-known words of Cowper in his description of the preacher, 
Paul would hear, approve and own. "He that negotiates between 
God and man, as God's ambassador, the grand concerns of judg- 
ment and of mercy, should beware of lightness in his speech. Tis 
pitiful to court a grin, when you should woo a soul; to break a 
jest when pity would inspire pathetic exhortation." He consecrated 
humor, ridicule and wit as few, if any, have ever been able to do, 
and tried always to use them only for God. 

" 'May God bless and sanctify this service to the salvation of 
every unsaved person here." 

"Following Dr. Cave's tribute, Dr. D. B. Towner and wife, of 



Sam P. Jonss. - 375 

Chicago, sang a very sweet and effective duet, entitled 'He Knows.' 

"The next address was delivered by United States Senator, Ed- 
ward W. Carmack, who spoke of him as 'The Man.' Senator Car- 
mack's loving eulogy is printed in full : 

" 'Ladies and Gentlemen : There needs no excuse for the ap- 
pearance of a layman to participate in the exercises of this occasion, 
for Sam Jones belonged to all the people, and the scopje of his in- 
fluence was as wide as the whole field of human life and activity. 
And so I have come to pay my brief and simple tribute to the 
memory of one whose death is an affliction because his life was a 
blessing to mankind. 

" 'The world has often made heroes of its own worst enemies, 
has called him greatest who has done most to multiply its sorrows, 
has builded its monuments to the destroyers and not to the savers 
of men. The time is coming when men will find some other stand- 
ard for human greatness than genius linked with selfishness and 
ambition, when the world's memorials will be wrought for those who 
have served it best. When that time comes, few men will have or 
deserve a higher monument than Sam Jones. 

" 'There can be no nobler epitaph written above the dust of any 
man than to say that the world is better for his having lived, and 
only the records of eternity can reveal the magnitude of the work 
that Sam Jones has done for his fellow men. 

" 'With mental gifts that would have won him distinction in any 
field of endeavor, he chose to devote all his powers to the services 
of his Master and of mankind. He fell, a self-devoted victim in 
the midst of his labors. We often say that the days of martyrdom, 
when men died by the stake, or the fagot, for conscience sake, have 
passed. But Sam Jones was as truly a martyr as any of old. His 
own will bound his limbs to the stake of duty and his spirit kindled 
the flame in which his body was consumed. Because he had no pa- 
tience, no sympathy, with evil, the thoughtless or malevolent have 
charged him with a want of charity. But he laid down his life for 
humanity, and "greater love hath no man than this." It is a strange 
aberration of reason that finds a want of love for mankind in a 
hatred of everything - that is injurious to man. That was the only 
hatred that ever found its way to the heart of Sam Jones. 



376 Sam P. Jones. 

" 'There has been much speculation as to the secret of his mar- 
velous success as an evangelist. In the early days of his fame, it 
was freely predicted that he would prove a nine-days' wonder, whose 
popularity would wane with the novelty of his style; but, though 
he never changed his manner or his methods, he steadily grew and 
increased in power, and death found him not yet at the zenith of 
his greatness. 

" 'The real secret of his success lay in the fact that Sam Jones 
the preacher, never effaced Sam Jones, the man. He never made 
himself an intellectual hermit whose mind lived apart from the 
world and busied itself only with ethical abstractions. While the 
basis of his nature was spiritual, he was intensely practical, in- 
tensely human. While a careful reader of his sermons could not 
fail to see the deep thought of a powerful mind, he prepared him- 
self for his work, not so much by secret meditation in the closet, 
as by keen observation of what was going on in the world. His 
mission was that of a wise and faithful commentator on the daily 
doings of men. He sought to enforce the lesson that to be a good 
Christian you must be a good man, you must lead a good life. 
In his phrase, "Quit your meanness," he summed up his conception 
of practical repentance. "Cease to do evil, learn to do well" might 
have been the text for every sermon he preached; and what was 
evil and what was good he portrayed with objective vividness of 
treatment by illustrations drawn from actual experience and the 
daily life of the people. By direct and particular application, he 
gave life and meaning to general precepts and invested his preach- 
ing with a human and immediate interest such as no mere exegesis 
of Scripture, however learned and eloquent, could ever command. 
He thundered against the actual, visible manifestations of evil. He 
held up to the public gaze the common vices of the time. He waged 
war not against the devil in hell, but against the devil in this world. 

" 'He was often criticised for the extreme aggressiveness of his 
methods and the severity of his language. But Sam Jones wrought 
with a rare knowledge of human nature. To treat the evil-doer 
with too great tenderness and respect often serves only to flatter his 
sense of self-satisfaction and confirm him in his evil ways. Sam 



Sam P. Jones. 377 

Jones dealt with vice as a thing utterly detestable, and he would 
admit no excuses for the vicious man. He covered him with the hot 
lava of his scorn, he lashed him with ridicule, he made him mean 
and contemptible in the sight of men. He thus humbled the pride 
of the evil-doer, made him despicable in his own eyes, and drove 
■ him to reformation of his life as the only means of recovering his 
self-respect. 

' 'He cared little — perhaps, too little, — for forms of doctrine. 
His theology was expressed in the lines, 

"For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight, 
He can't be wrong whose life is in the right." 

" 'Even an avowed infidel was not so repulsive to him as actual 
wickedness. He often said that the horns and hoofs belonged not 
so much to the theoretical infidel as to the man who denied God, not 
with his lips, but in his life. 

" 'He once said that a poor sermon with the power of earnest- 
ness behind it was more effective than the most powerful sermon 
without the spirit of earnestness. One great secret of his own 
power as a preacher was the intense earnestness, the manifest sin- 
cerity of the man. All the powers of his splendid intellect could 
not have made him the great evangelist he was if his words had 
come cold from the brain instead of hot from the heart. 

" 'In the earlier years of his career he was made the target, not 
only for injudicious criticism, but the calumnies of the vilest char- 
acter. He was not insensible — no man can be entirely so — to these 
malevolent attacks, but he bore them with outward composure and 
gave to slander its most crushing answer — a pure, upright life. 

" 'He was sometimes criticised for overstepping the proper limi- 
tations of a preacher's calling, and for dealing with matters foreign 
to the pulpit. But Sam Jones was the man always as well as the 
preacher, and his alert and active mind was interested in everything 
that concerned the welfare of man. These criticisms were doubtless 
sometimes sincere, but for the most part, these proceeded from men 
whose way of life would not bear a particular application of gen- 
eral precepts. These always prefer the kind of preacher who drones 



378 Sam P. Jonks. 

vague abstractions to a somnolent congregation and deals with sin 
in such a way as not to disturb the repose of the sinner. It was 
because he was the reverse of this type that Sam Jones was such a 
power for good in this world. 

" 'But beneath all this frluntness of speech and manner was a 
heart overflowing with love and charity. It was because he loved 
the sinner that he hated sin. He but expressed his devotion to the 
welfare of humanity in the intensity of his loathing for the vices of 
his time. 

" 'To those who knew him, he was a man easy to love — frank, 
open, kindly, "with malice towards none, with charity for all." To 
those who did not know him thus, we only need to point to the 
fruits of his ministry. Men do not gather grapes of thorns nor 
figs of thistles. A corrupt tree can not bear good fruit. Only a 
great and good man — a man great in his goodness and good in his 
greatness — could have yielded to the world, so great a harvest. And 
finally, if he who saves a soul from death covers a multitude of 
sins, how trivial, even in the eye of divine perfection, must seem 
the failings of Sam Jones when he appears at the great bar encom- 
passed by a throng of human souls rescued and redeemed through 
his ministry/ 

"Dr. W. F. Tillett, Dean of the Theological Department, Van- 
derbilt University, was the first of the number selected to make 
three-minute addresses. He said that he was glad to be permitted 
to bring a rose from Vanderbilt and lay it on the grave of this 
great man. 

" 'As I sought the character and work of him we loved to call 
Sam Jones, it seems to me it was he who struck the point where 
our modern civilization needed attention. He touched the greatest 
blot in our modern life, intemperance and the gambling-dens. Is 
there a work that our reformers could do, that would be greater than 
eliminating these evils ? That strong and mighty sentiment against 
the open saloon that is growing greater every day, is due in no 
small degree to the work of our friend and brother. This was 
one of his greatest works, and I believe it will survive. 

" 'I rejoice to be able to say that the man to whom we pay honor 



Sam P. Jonss. . 379 

never delivered a message that the audience could not say that be- 
hind his eloquent sermon was a pure Christian life. While many 
times I grant he called forth a laugh at the expense of education 
and theology, but if I had a boy at Vanderbilt University struggling 
to get an education, and I had only to mention the fact to Sam 
Jones, he furnished the necessary money to educate that boy. When 
all things are considered, Brother Jones must be pronounced one of 
the most remarkable, original and gifted men that Methodism has 
ever produced. We may write his epitaph "He purchased deathless- 
ness with death." 

"The next three-minute address was delivered by Professor J. J. 
Keys, of the Nashville High School. He said : 

" 'The secret of Sam Jones's great power was his love for hu- 
manity. He did not have to tell you that he loved you. It was 
not necessary. He made you see yourself as you really were. I 
first heard of him twenty years ago in Michigan, when a newsboy 
passed through a train selling copies of his sermons. I devoured the 
book at one sitting ; little did I dream then that some day I would be 
called upon to take part in a great service like this in his memory. 
Let us send up a prayer of thanksgiving that it was our blessed 
privilege to sit at the feet of this great man and through him learn 
the way of life/ 

"Professor J. W. Brister, of Peabody College for Teachers, 
made the next brief address : 

" 'The whole nation, especially the South, mourns his loss. Nash- 
ville grieves, and rightly so, as over the departure of an own son. 
For here he did some of his most notable preaching, and here he 
scored many of his greatest triumphs. 

" 'From that first great meeting held yonder on Broad Street, 
twenty-one years ago, his friends multiplied, and his service and 
its benefits to our city increased with cumulative effect. 

" 'Hardly a home in all the community but has indirectly felt 
the influence of the mighty work he here wrought; and thousands 
of them have been directly benefited and blessed. Hardly a church 
in all the section but numbers among its members one or more 
Sam Jones converts, and in many churches they may be counted by 



380 Sam P. Jonss. 

the score. And these converts, many of them, stand in the fore- 
front of Nashville's religious leaders, faithful in building up and 
strengthening the church, ready and zealous in every charitable 
work, powerful in every movement for civic reform. 

" 'Nashville owes him an incalculable debt. At her hands he 
deserves all honor and praise. This splendid auditorium ought to 
be rechristened the Jones-Ryman Tabernacle ; and on either side of 
the great organ, some day to be installed, ought to be placed a life- 
size statue — one of Sam Jones, who inspired the building ; the other 
of Tom Ryman, his follower, who labored with unflagging zeal and 
invincible faith towards its erection/ 

"The last of these short speeches was made by Hon. John Bell 
Keeble, of the Nashville Bar. While it was very brief, it was one 
of the most appropriate speeches of the afternoon. He said that 
'the common belief that the day of oratory was passed, is a fallacy. 
The spoken word was one of the most potent powers for good, and 
would always be. God has always used the voice of man to effect 
His work on earth. John the Baptist, Paul, Jesus Christ were all 
great orators. Sam Jones had the brain, the heart, the wit, humor 
and pathos that set fire to the words that went from his month. 
His eloquence opened the doors of men's money-safes, and caused 
them to turn loose their money for the glory of God, and the belief 
of men. The best of all, this man never prostituted his gifts of 
oratory, but used them to bring men to God, to revitalize their lives, 
to show them the cross of Jesus Christ, and so portray Him as to 
cause men and women to yield to Him their services and dedicate 
their lives to His cause.' 

"After these brief addresses, Mr. Charles Butler, soloist in the 
Torrey-Alexander meetings, sang 'The Glory Song.' A number of 
persons who had been converted under Mr. Jones's ministry in Nash- 
ville made one-minute talks, while many stood in all parts of the 
building testifying in that way the appreciation of the man who had 
led them to the Savior. 

"The last address was delivered by Rev. Walt Holcomb, of Nash- 
ville, who was with Mr. Jones at the time of his death. Mr. Hol- 
comb spoke on 'His Last Days' as follows : 



Sam P. Jones. 381 

. " 'Mr. Chairman and Friends of Brother Jones: From Carters - 
ville I bring the love of the bereaved family, to the thousands of 
friends of our glorified brother, who are gathered this afternoon to 
pay honor to the memory of the truest friend Nashville ever had. 
[Turning to Bishop Fitzgerald.] And to you, my dear Bishop Fitz- 
gerald, Mrs. Jones sent special love because of your great love for 
her late husband. Of all the cities where Mr. Jones labored, there 
was none other that he visited so frequently, and spoke with deeper 
solicitude and more tender affection. He loved Nashville. When 
I look upon this sea of faces and follow the hundreds who were 
turned away, and have watched you sitting here for nearly three 
hours, I feel sure no city loved him better, and has suffered a greater 
loss at his untimely death. 

" 'I have been asked by your committee to speak on "His Last 
Days." It was during his latter days that I knew him personally. 
I shall never forget the first time I met him. It was at Charlotte, 
N. C. I was in the Southern station waiting for a train. I heard 
a conversation going on between a telegraph-operator and the man 
who was sending the message. After the operator had counted 
the words and looked at the signature, he threw up his eyes and 
said, "Is this Mr. Sam Jones ?" "Yes, sir," he replied, "that's my 
forgiven name. How much do I owe you?" "Well," said the 
operator, "you don't owe me anything. You can't pay for a tele- 
gram that I send." I walked up to him, extending my hand and 
giving my name, and called attention to a Bible conference that I 
was connected with at Montreat, N. C. He looked at me from head 
to foot, as if he were sizing me up, as much as to say, "Kid, where 
were you jumped up, anyway?" I tried to explain to him our con- 
ference, while showing him the announcements. He said, "Well, 
thank you, but I can read." Then he gave me a hearty grasp of 
the hand and an earnest "God bless you," and boarded the train for 
home. That day I was drawn to his kindly heart. 

" 'A few months later he went to Wilkesboro, N. C, for a re- 
vival meeting. On Thursday before the meeting began on Sunday, 
I received a note for him, in which he said, "I can not go to Wilkes- 
boro before next Monday. I want you to go up Saturday and 



382 Sam P. Jones. 

'hold the fort' until I come." Saturday I went to Wilkesboro, and 
along the way people from towns and the surrounding . country 
were at the depots to get a peep at the great Georgia preacher. 
Sunday morning came, and the large tent was crowded with people 
to hear him preach. I preached the best I could to a disappointed 
audience. From then till preaching to his last audience in Okla- 
homa City, I never refused a request he made of me. Mr. Jones 
always looked upon that meeting as the most marvelous, next to 
the memorable meeting he held here, twenty-one years ago. The 
liquor traffic was so entrenched in the county that its grip upon the 
people was something appalling. He pitched into' that infernal busi- 
ness, and at the close of the meeting Wilkesboro was practically a 
temperance town, and Wilkes county, a temperance county. I 
shall never forget the last service. Business had suspended, peo- 
ple were there from far and near, and Mr. Jones took for 
his text, "Lord, what wait I for?" He took up the sinner and 
discussed the various excuses that they offer for not becoming 
Christians. Such sarcasm, invective, ridicule, I never heard in all 
my life. Such wit and humor was never crowded into an hour; and, 
when he finished preaching, he had literally, by the help of the 
good Spirit, ridiculed and laughed them out of their sins. When 
the invitation was extended they ran over each other to get to the 
altar. I shall never forget his radiant face. He had been sick, 
weary and worn for months. He said, "I am a dying man." But 
that morning heaven and earth seemed to meet, and he clapped 
his hands and stamped his foot, and with the tears streaming down 
his cheeks, exclaimed, "Thank God for a scene like this; there hasn't 
been such a happy soul in my body in the last twenty years." 

" 'One of Mr. Jones's favorite texts was "I have fought a good 
fight ; I have kept the faith ; I have finished my course ; henceforth 
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." He was a real 
Christian soldier, and fought the battles of life more manfully than 
any one whom I have ever known. His faith was as simple and 
mighty as that of a little child, and it was lost in the personality 
of Jesus Christ. None ever entered the Christian race who kept his 
eyes more fully upon the goal and strove harder to win the crown. 



Sam P. Jones. 383 

No man ever lived who tried harder to get to heaven. His home- 
going must have been as happy as a schoolboy running home. A 
friend had this dream the night before his death. He dreamed 
that he was in heaven with Mr. Jones. He saw him standing in 
one of his characteristic attitudes near the pearly gate, with one 
of his expressive and significant smiles covering his face, shouting, 
"I got here at last; I pulled some of the steepest hills of any man 
that ever reached the gates of pearl, and by the good Lord's reach- 
ing down and snatching me away, I was saved from pulling steeper 
ones." 

" 'When I think how the devil tried to ruin his young life ; how 
he tried to cripple him in his ministry; how he tried to defeat him 
in the end, and had he succeeded, what a victory it would have been 
for the devil and his kingdom, there comes to my heart peace and 
joy that lift me above the indescribable sorrow and peculiar grief 
I have felt. 

" 'A prominent citizen of his town said to me, "I had just fin- 
ished reading Mr. Jones's last letter in the Journal, written from 
Oklahoma City, in which he said how he was fighting the world, the 
flesh and the devil, when the telegram announcing his death was 
received. While my heart was aching, I couldn't refrain from 
shouting 'Glory to God, he has quit fighting the devil and gone to 
playing with the angels.' " 

" 'Last Monday morning, on a Rock Island train from Okla- 
homa City, just fifty-two miles beyond Little Rock, Ark., we were 
blockaded by a freight wreck. This was about four o'clock in the 
morning. Mr. Jones arose and dressed about half-past five. He 
sat and talked to the porter who was shining his shoes. Then suf- 
fering from nausea, he called to his daughter to arise and har ', Twai 
a cup of water. While waiting for the water, they were enge^d 
in conversation, when suddenly he collapsed. She called me, say- 
ing, "Oh, Mr. Holcomb, hurry to papa, I believe he is dying." In 
a moment I was by his side with his hands in mine, drawing his 
noble head to my heart, saying, "Oh, Brother Jones, what's the 
matter?" He looked at me and attempted to speak, but the words 
died in his throat. Then I realized that the fatal stroke had put 



384 Sam P. Jones. 

an end to all that was mortal, to the best friend I ever had. His 
noble wife, two of his daughters, Mr. Dunham and myself, had 
clustered around, while a serene and heavenly expression formed 
in his face. Without a struggle he left us as peacefully and quietly 
as daylight ever glided away into eventide. We knew that his 
white soul had slipped off to a brighter world. Perhaps God, in His 
infinite mercy, caused the train to stop long enough for His wearied, 
tired and faithful servant to lie down and die. 

" 'Mr. Jones lived on trains more than any other man. He loved 
railroads, steam-engines, fine cars and Pullmans. He loved the 
railroad men from the president of the road down to the humblest 
porter. Among the most beautiful illustrations that he used were 
stories of railroad life and scenes. Next to his beautiful home, in 
what place could he have passed away that would have been more 
like home to him ? 

" 'We watched over his sacred body until we reached Little Rock, 
where it was turned over to the undertaker. The railroad officials 
of the Rock Island offered every courtesy — even their own private 
cars — to carry his body and family home. Upon our arrival in 
Memphis, the president of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 
Railway had a special train at our disposal. All along the way men 
and women stood around the station with bleeding hearts, moistened 
eyes, and uncovered heads, paying a silent yet mighty tribute to 
the man they loved so well. Never was a train pulled more gently, 
and seemed to be on a more sacred mission than the one that took 
him home. 

" 'Mr. Jones has always said that he wanted to die "in the har- 
ness"; that he wished to follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit, 
and if, perchance he should see fit, to lead him through the hardest- 
fought battle of his life, and after that, go home. Surely, this wish 
was granted. 

" 'In speaking to me he said, at the close of the Oklahoma meet- 
ing, "This last year I have had three of the hardest campaigns of 
my life." He then spoke of the arduous work in Cincinnati, in his 
last great meeting, when victory crowned his labors. Then he 
spoke of the difficult campaign in Evansville. Then in Oklahoma 



Sam P. Jonics. 385 

City, when he had more to contend with, humanly speaking, and 
yet through it all never murmured or complained, and had over- 
come more than ever before. The last thing he said about it was, 
"My hands seem to be in the mouth of a lion. I will pull them out 
as gracefully and manfully as I know how." 

" 'That evening on the train he was in a very happy mood. For 
several hours he sat and talked with us. After supper he spent an 
hour or more in conversation with some commercial men. He was 
talking to them about the sins of men in general, and said if a man 
had real respect and love for his mother, that he always stood a 
fair chance of reformation, but when a boy allowed the love for a 
good mother to die out of his heart, he was ordinarily beyond the 
reach of God's love. He was preaching as earnestly to that hand- 
ful as he had done a week previous to one of the largest audiences 
of men that ever assembled in Oklahoma City. Leaving the men, 
he joined the family circle again, and in a little while kissed each 
member good-night. 

" 'His attention was called to a poor consumptive with his broken- 
hearted wife, who were in the day-coach. He immediately called 
the Pullman conductor and had them assigned a berth. He said, 
rising to his feet, "Captain, here is the money for the berth. If 
that poor fellow should pay it himself, perhaps he wouldn't have 
anything left when he reached Memphis. So I'll pay it, and I'll 
have something left over." May I ask, "What had he left over?" 
Before we reached Memphis he had gone to his reward. Here is 
what he had left over: "For I was an hungered and ye gave me 
meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and 
ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick and ye visited 
me. Then shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw 
we Thee an hungered and fed Thee ; or thirsty, and gave Thee drink ; 
when saw we Thee a stranger and took Thee in; or naked and 
clothed Thee ; or when saw we Thee sick and came unto Thee ; and 
the King shall answer and say unto them : Verily, I say unto you, 
inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me." I had rather be called to 



386 Sam P. Jones. 

heaven after having done a kindly deed like that than to leave any 
other finished work in the world. 

" 'Before retiring he went to the berth of the sick man, then ut- 
tered the last words I ever heard him speak. He bowed by the 
berth, taking the man by the hand, saying: "I'm sorry to see you 
suffering so. I am glad that we found you, and can serve you. I 
hope you will sleep well to-night. If you should need any help, 
don't fail to call me. I shall be glad to come to you." Then turn- 
ing to his wife, he said, "When we reach Memphis, I'll see that you 
get transportation to your home." 

" 'After Mr. Jones's death, I found some money on his person, 
and recalling his last words to her, I went to the berth and said, 
"Pardon me, but I heard Brother Jones speak of getting your trans- 
portation, and wish to know if you have sufficient means to get 
home.'' The tears came into her eyes, and she said, "That's one 
thing that has been troubling me. We haven't enough money to 
get home." I handed her the money, explaining that it was Brother 
Jones's, telling her I would finish for him his last act of kindness. 

" 'I have related to you my first impression of him, and recounted 
some of the incidents of his last days. Now, I shall speak of him 
as a man and preacher, as he appeared to me during his last days. 

" 'In making a sympathetic study of Mr. Jones, we must consider 
him first of all, as a man. I am proud of the respect given the min- 
istry, because of its high and sacred calling, but I am prouder when 
the world respects a minister, because of the manhood that lies back 
of his profession. God never made a bigger nor grander thing 
than when He created a man. I say it reverently, He can not make 
a preacher out of anything but a man. And, if I were to start out 
in search for the most manly man, I would not stop until I came 
into the presence of Mr. Jones. Taking him as he daily lived, in all 
the transactions of life, he was the most exemplary character I ever 
knew. To my mind, he was the cleanest, noblest and grandest spirit 
that has lived. I never saw him do a small deed ; never heard him 
speak an unkind word, and never heard him offer an uncharitable 
criticism. While his conviction of right and wrong were the strong- 
est, his contempt for shams and hypocrisies were the keenest, and 



-Sam P. Jones. 387 

his determination to do right the most indomitable; yet he had the 
kindest, gentlest and most forgiving heart that ever throbbed in 
the bosom of man. When he spoke of the people who did not come 
up to his ideal of life, there was always such considerateness and 
tenderness in his criticisms, that all the sting was extracted from 
his words. He was as free from sensitiveness and jealousy as an 
angel. As a man, I do not hope to see his like again.' 

" 'As a preacher, he was the greatest that ever stood before an 
American audience, and I believe that he will go down in history as 
one of the greatest and most marvelous ministers of the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. I have heard his most objectionable utterances, and I 
wish to say that never for a second, did the words of the man in- 
fluence me, but for God. There was a peculiar power that he 
wielded in his most denunciatory words that made a man see the 
pure and the good, and kept mere words from influencing the mind 
for evil. I always went away from his preaching and lecturing loving 
God better, with the Bible more real and precious to my heart, and 
with a sweeter and truer love for mother and home. 

" 'His great gifts in speaking were wit, humor, sarcasm, pathos, 
all under marvelous control, and completely concentrated upon the 
effect that he wished to produce. Never was there a day that he did 
not create smiles and drive away the burden from the hearts of his 
fellow men. He started waves of laughter and merriment that en- 
circled our nation. His pathos was the rarest and sublimest ever 
given to man. It was never more in evidence than the last night 
he preached, in which he said, "How I would like to go to heaven." 
The entire audience wept like broken-hearted children. His sar- 
casm and invectives were of such keenness and sharpness that no sur- 
geon's knife has ever served him better than these weapons served 
him. His oratory, unlike that of other men, will go down in history 
as the cleverest, most winsome and powerful of any man living or 
dead. From generation to generation his unique and matchless 
words will be handed down in private conversation, and it will re- 
quire no printed page to preserve them. They will be repeated 
again and again by those that are to follow us. 

" 'The great audiences that attended his ministry for nearly 



388 Sam P. Jonss. 

thirty-five years outnumbered those addressed by any man since the 
world began. 

" 'At a Western Chautauqua he dropped in to spend a short while 
with his family. When it was noised abroad that he was on the 
ground, there was a general request that he preach. The director 
of the Conference arranged the program so as to give the people an 
opportunity to hear him. He was tired and worn out from a long 
lecture tour, and refused to speak in the open air at the Hillside 
meeting. Finally the rain drove the people into the auditorium, and 
he was asked to address them there. The Rev. John McNeil, the 
distinguished Scotchman, had been announced for the eight o'clock 
hour. Mr. Jones preceded him, with the understanding that he 
should speak as long as he felt impressed to, Dr. McNiel stand- 
ing in the rear of the building while Mr. Jones was swaying the 
great audience. The Scotchman seemed to forget that his time was 
being encroached upon, and was watching the performance and 
the scene with the greatest pleasure and delight. Just before nine 
o'clock he walked up on the platform, and instead of being angry, 
as some preachers would have been, he spoke in the most extravagant 
terms of Mr. Jones's address. He said in substance : "I have crossed 
the Atlantic, and returned to my Scotch people many times," and, 
then, looking at a thousand or more prominent ministers, gathered 
from the leading cities of the United States, he said : "Not once 
have my people asked about any of you men, but they have always 
asked 'Did you see or hear Sam Jones while in the States ?' I shall 
take great pleasure upon my return in telling them that such an op- 
portunity had been given me." After reading the thoughts of many 
before him, he said: "Now, you preachers will say that anybody 
can talk like Sam Jones. Well," replied McNeil, "I would advise 
you to try it; if you have anything up your sleeves that will draw 
the crowds, hold them, and move them, as this man does, you begin 
at once. Whatever you have up your sleeve, shake it down next 
time you appear before your people." The great "Scotch Spurgeon," 
as he is known in th^ old country, realized that behind the wonderful 
things that Mr. Jones had said was a strong will, a big heart, a 
ponderous brain, and a powerful personality, consecrated to God, 



Sam P. Jones. 389 

with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which accounted for the 
wonderful power that he had wielded over the audience. 

" 'In all of his ministry and work he had encountered many critics. 
Some of them were really jealous of him, which was back of every 
- fault they found in him. Others were too fastidious in this day of 
great wickedness, in high and low places ; however, during his long 
ministry most of them changed their minds. Perhaps nine-tenths of 
them passed away before he died. The other tenth has been con- 
verted in his death. 

" 'Last fall in the Cincinnati meeting a prominent minister left 
the great Music Hall in company with an unsaved man. As they 
walked down the street, the preacher was critcising Mr. Jones un- 
mercifully; the sinner was silent. They came to the parting of 
their way ; the unconverted man took the minister by the hand and 
said : "It seems that the sermon didn't affect you like it did me. All 
the time he was preaching I felt that I was the meanest sinner that 
ever lived, and realized that if God didn't help me that I was lost 
for both worlds." On the way home the minister asked himself the 
question : "How much of my preaching would it take to make a 
man feel that way?" The more he thought about it the more he 
became convinced that Mr. Jones was right and that he was wrong. 
I noticed in the Cincinnati Twites-Star that he makes a manly con- 
fession of his mistake, and writes a beautiful tribute to the memory 
of Mr. Jones. 

" 'I feel that I have lost the truest, noblest and best friend I ever 
had. To say I loved him, expresses it mildly. God only knows 
how his love and interest in me and my work have helped and 
strengthened me. His memory will ever be fresh, sacred and sweet 
to my heart. I am a better man for having known him and gone 
with him through sunshine and shadow. May his great mantle 
fall upon a thousand ministers of the gospel. God's richest, sweetest 
and best blessing be upon his precious wife, and the children that 
were dearer to him than life. In the language of another, I would 
reverently say : 



390 Sam P. Jones. 

" Sleep on beloved, and take thy rest, 
Lay down thy head upon thy Savior's breast, 
We loved thee well, but Jesus loved thee best; 
Good-night ; good-night ; good-night." 

"Dr. R. A. Torry, who was conducting evangelistic services in 
the city, closed the memorial services with an earnest appeal to the 
unconverted to come to Christ. He said: 'It was my privilege to 
speak the closing words at a memorial service in Northfield, Mass., 
of the late Dwight L. Moody. It is now my privilege to speak the 
closing words at the memorial service of another great evangelist. 
Sam Jones is now on the other side of the river saying to all the 
unsaved of Nashville, "Come over here." 

" While thousands in this city yielded to his appeals' during his 
ministry, there are others who resisted his tender entreaties, but 
now his voice is calling louder than it ever did before in this taber- 
nacle. I don't believe that Mr. Jones would feel that this service was 
complete unless an opportunity was given to accept Christ, and I 
am going to ask those of you who will become Christians to rise to 
your feet.' Quite a number arose, and then Dr. Hall asked Bishop 
O. P. Fitzgerald to pronounce the benediction." 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

(Memorial Services — Continued.) 



The Memorial Service at the Auditorium, Chattanooga. 

The citizens of Chattanooga have always claimed that there was 
no city in which Mr. Jones and his work were held in higher esteem 
than Chattanooga. He had conducted several meetings there, and 
had appeared frequently on the lecture platform. The Chattanooga 
papers had a great deal to say at the time of his death, and the peo- 
ple were very generous in their words of expression and love. It 
was soon suggested that a great memorial service be held in the 
Auditorium, October 21st. The many friends and admirers of Mr. 
Jones carried out the suggestion and arranged for the service. 

Early in the afternoon great crowds were seen going towards the 
Auditorium, and before the hour appointed for service people were 
being turned back by the hundreds. The great Auditorium was too 
small for the audience who came to participate in the service. It 
was an audience made up of distinguished citizens, lawyers, physi- 
cians, politicians, bankers and business men The audience was also 
composed of the clergymen and Christian laity of the different de- 
nominations. The platform was crowded with the pastors and 
choirs of the city. 

The opening song was "Nearer, my God, to Thee," led by Mr. E. 
O. Excell, of Chicago, who was Mr. Jones's chorister for twenty 
years, and was with him in the last meeting he held. The great 
audience joined reverently in singing the grand old song. This was 
followed by a duet, sung by Mr. E. O. Excell and Mr. Oscar Seagle. 
The song was written by Mr. Excell, and entitled "I am Happy in 
Him." This was followed by a prayer, when Mr. Seagle sang "The 
Ninety and Nine." Mr. Seagle sang this song a number of times 

(391) 



392 Sam P. Jones. 

in Mr. Jones's great evangelistic meetings, and it was one of his fa- 
vorite songs. Dr. J. S. French, of Centenary Church, read a scrip- 
ture lesson, which was the last one that Mr. Jones read in public. 
Mr. Excell sang the song that Mr. Jones loved best, "The Good Old- 
Fashioned Way." 

There were a number of brief tributes, but the leading address 
was made by Rev. Geo. R. Stuart. Mr. Stuart was the constant 
companion and co-worker of Mr. Jones for years, having gone from 
the pastorate of the Centenary church, Chattanooga, to assist Mr. 
Jones in evangelistic work. It was very appropriate that he should 
make the principal address at this service. He said : 

"My friends, an occasion like this has two objects, if properly ob- 
served; the first is to pay proper respect to a great character, the 
second is to bring to* God those who are present. 

As I come to you this afternoon I feel that I could not properly 
represent the life of this great man, if the second point were not 
the prominent one. It would be a difficult thing to make the name 
of Sam Jones any broader, to make his life any better known, or 
to bring his work forward in bolder type than his life has written it. 

We have met at this hour, in common with other great gather- 
ings all over this country, to pay our tribute of respect and love to 
a really great man. 

He was great from every side of greatness in a preacher. First, 
he was a good man. For sixteen years, I was at his side; we 
roomed , together; we slept together; we prayed together; we 
walked together; we planned together; we traded together. 

This is one man whose heart and life I know, and I say to the 
glory of God, and to his honor, that I write him down in my heart 
as the cleanest, truest, straightest, best man God ever permitted 
me to know. 

On this platform stands Prof. E. O. Excell, of Chicago, who in 
all these years was with us, and was even with him before I knew 
him intimately, and, as we talked together the past four days we 
have looked into each other's tearful eyes and said : "The greatest 
man this country has ever known has passed away." He was a 
good man ; not only good, but he was great. 



Sam P. Jones. 393 

I have been with him before every class of audience this country 
affords. I have stood for a month with him in the city of Boston. 
I have stayed with him in the great tabernacles preaching to the 
colored people in the South. I have stood with him in the great 
country districts of our land. I have stood with him in every con- 
ceivable place almost, and heard him talk to almost every conceiv- 
able class of people, and before them all he was marvelously great. 

The culture of Boston hung on his lips like the illiterate colored 
man of the South, and he was the minister of righteousness to all 
alike. The Supreme Judge sat side by side with a twelve-year-old 
boy and their faces shone alike as he preached. 

There are three things which make a man great : His goodness, 
his inherent powers of greatness, and his service to the people. No 
man has served his country for God like Sam Jones. 

Standing by the side of his casket in the Capitol of Georgia at 
Atlanta, I watched the thousands of people pass by. I said to a 
man standing near : "Open your watch and see how many pass by 
in a minute; I want a correct record of the people who look upon 
his face." 

After he held his watch a minute, I counted through the period 
and estimated that thirty thousand people looked upon his face in 
the few hours I remained there. 

And as they passed by, hurrying along, I looked at the great, the 
poor, the rich, the white, the colored, the little boy, the old man, the 
little girl, the old woman, the strong, the feeble, and as I saw them 
pass they wiped the tears from their faces, and I said to a man 
standing beside me: "He preached marvelously while he lived; 
but his cold lips preached to the greatest audience before whom he 
ever stood." 

He was not accidentally great; he was great by the facts and 
qualities which make men great. 

There are four things which make a great preacher; natural 
gifts, and character to back up these gifts; a gathering of these 
gifts together and the Holy Ghost to make these gifts sufficient. 

Sam Jones was naturally gifted; he had a great mind; he was 
a great student, not of books, but of men; of current events and 



394 Sam P. Jonss. 

moving social affairs. He was one of the best-posted men on the 
great issues of this country that the country ever had. Going into 
a great city, he would stand up and preach his two or three sermons 
and the people would say, "Who has been talking to him?'* and 
they would say, "Who has been reporting the situation to him?" 

He could go into a great city and lay his fingers on its pulse, and, 
like a skilled physician, tell the great disease prominent in its social, 
moral and civil life. 

He knew the great men of this country ; knew their lives ; knew 
the great advances of this country and knew their trend. He knew 
the great moral movements of this country and how they were set 
in motion. 

Never a morning came that the daily papers were not in his 
hands, and when he passed over a paper you could not call his atten- 
tion to a movement in this country he had not studied — a marvelous 
mind, studying the marvelous movements of the age in which he 
lived. 

He was a marvelous judge of human nature; this was not acci- 
dental. When God makes a great man he begins early to make 
him. 

A man who accepts God's conditions and God's circumstances, 
and works out with God, God crowns with greatness his efforts. 

He was marvelously endowed with natural wit, and humor bub- 
bled and sparkled naturally with him. What a marvelous instru- 
ment it has been to him ; how it has attracted the people, and how, 
attracting the people, he has done honest work for God. 

But all of these natural gifts would have been worth little to that 
man having not been backed up by a great character. He had a 
moral character which stood like a solid rock — he was the most 
honest man I ever knew. 

Think of him ! In a long life before the people, with his enemies 
digging him up at every corner, there has never been revealed 
to the world a solitary dishonest act. And how often he has said : 
"A man who throws as many stones as I throw could not live in a 
glass house." 

Think of how the men have dug at his character, and dug at his 



Sam P. Jonss. 395 

life. Where is the man who ever dug up a black act connected with 
him? 

Many have criticised him because he received large sums of 
money, but, to me, the disposition of the money which has come 
into his hands, through all these years, has been the most mar- 
velous thing connected with the man. 

He talked like a bosom friend to me, as he was; his life is an 
open book to everybody. Almost every step of his life has been 
published. 

I can say what will surprise you, but I believe I tell the honest 
truth when I say I don't believe he ever invested one single dollar 
but that he invested it to help somebody else. He so often preached 
the doctrine, too, that God will take care of those who take care of 
His cause, which is singularly illustrated in his own life. 

But God has in a strange way blessed him. He was one of the 
most liberal, the most charitable men I ever knew. No man ever 
came to him, in all my acquaintance, and reached out a hand and 
begged for help that he did not get it. 

Honest in his transactions, honest in his dealings with God's 
money, honest towards the world, honest in friendship — no man 
ever had a truer friend. There was no sham, no hypocrisy. I 
never saw him do a thing for show in my life. He was sincere, 
honest, and candid from beginning to end. 

The characteristic that made him the greatest of all, probably, was 
his indomitable courage. I never saw him cower. I never saw him 
wince. I have sat with him in the hotel when men would come in 
and say : "There are a hundred armed men organized who are 
going to shoot at you when you go on the platform to-night." 
When they were 1 gone he would look at me and smile and say, 
"They are all scared." 

We would get in the carriage and drive out to the tabernacle 
and he would go in and step out on the platform. He would go 
as calmly and quietly as I ever knew a man, and enter upon his 
invectives of sin; and, in the very midst of his terrific arraign- 
ment, he would stop and say, "Now is the time to shoot." 

I have seen men come in and sit down in his room and say, 



396 Sam P. Jonss. 

"Brother Jones, it will not do to touch upon this, and that, and the 
other subject in this town; it is so organized, so fortified, that to 
stir it up will ruin everything." The first time he got on his feet 
in that town he would put his crowbar under that very thing and 
turn it upside down. 

I never saw him stop a moment for fear of public criticism, or 
human opinion of what would happen. He asked one question, and, 
having answered it, he moved straight ahead. His question was, 
"Is it right?" Having settled that, there was no other question 
for him to answer. 

God teach us a lesson from that. 

But, with all these characteristics, Sam Jones would not have 
been great but for another — that was the religion of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. That is the thing which made him great. 

His faith was as simple as a child's faith. I never saw him raise 
a question about the truth of the Bible, or the authenticity of the 
Bible, the existence of God, or the divinity of Christ. 

He walked upon these great truths, and planted himself. He 
believed God would rule and control. 

Many a time, in our hard-fought battles, when it looked to me as 
if everything was going to burst, he would turn his calm face to 
mine, and say, "George, God still lives; He will see us through." 

I thank God that I ever came into contact with such an humble 
and simple, but marvelous faith as that man had. He was conse- 
crated to his work. 

I have read his mail and seen him turn his back upon Bureau 
letters, in which there were thousands of dollars offered for lecture- 
courses, and talk with a plain preacher from a backwoods district 
and take out his little book and write down the very dates for 
which the Bureau called and give them to this humble place, and 
leave the preparation and remuneration entirely to him. 

In all my years of experience with him, I have never known 
him to make financial conditions, but to one man, and he always 
regretted that — the preacher said he would not do it in any other 
way. They were afraid they were going to be robbed by him, I 
suppose, and he let it go. 



Sam P. Jones. 397 

Brethren, we stand to-day on this platform to offer this tribute 
to a man who will be greater fifty years from now, in the minds 
of the people, than he is to-day. 

A Cartersville man, as he stood in Atlanta watching the great 
throng passing by, whispered to me and said, "George, we didn't 
know what a great man was living in our town; he has lived and 
died before we found out how great he was." 

This country has not yet found out how great he was. He has 
talked to more people than any other man who ever lived in 
America. There is no man to-day who has moved more people to 
better lives than he. 

He has led more people to consecration to God, and reformed 
more men in their personal lives, and more communities in their 
civil and moral conditions, than any man who ever spoke on the 
American platform. 

And I stand in my place and say to-day, that I do not believe 
any preacher has ever died in America who is as sincerely and 
broadly known as Sam Jones. 

As I have passed up and down this country, railroad men, mer- 
chants, citizens, preachers — every class of people have gripped my 
hand and almost invariably a tear would start in their eyes and 
they would say, "We have lost a great friend and a great man." 

The last thing I want to say is this : "I want to thank God for ever 
being associated with a man so honest through all his life, so brave 
in all his conduct, so clean in all his transactions, so consecrated to 
God's service, so simple in his faith, so baptized by the Holy Spirit, 
and so marvelously useful to the cause of God and humanity. 

This country will never forget the fact that Sam Jones lived and 
denounced every wrong, and stood for everything right. May God 
anoint men in this country to be true, honest and consecrated, 
grave and fit for the work of God. 

This one personal thing : I have felt for four days as if one whole 
side of my being has been turned out. The loneliness has been 
crushing — just to think that I will never see the man or hear his 
voice again, or put my heart close up to him again. What a loss 
personally. And the nation and the individual feels the loss almost 
as a personal friend. 



398 Sam P. Jonss. 

Let us to-day pledge God a better life. Let us to-day in our own 
lives reach out towards something higher, so that some bright day 
we may go to the heaven in which he believed, and meet him, with 
loved ones, in that better country. 

God help us." 



CHAPTER XL. 

(Memorial Services — Continued.) 



Memorial Services in Atlanta. 

The Atlanta people not fully satisfied with the honor they had 
conferred upon Mr. Jones, decided to have a special memorial serv- 
ice for him. As the Baptist Tabernacle was the largest auditorium 
in Atlanta, and where Mr. Jones had preached so many times of 
recent years, it was decided that the service should be held there. 
The building had already been decorated for the homecoming 
of Dr. Broughton, and while the decorations, might have been out 
of place for memorial services to any other man, yet we believe that 
the brightness and cheerfulness of the decorations would have 
pleased Mr. Jones. 

In the centre of the rostrum was a vacant chair, just above it a 
life-sized picture of Mr. Jones. Just to the right of the pulpit was 
this inscription: "Sam P. Jones, Georgia's Beloved Dead." Aside' 
from this there was no sign of mourning. There was an outpouring 
of the people. Early the building was full to overflowing, and thou- 
sands were turned away. Row after row of earnest faces, young 
and old, rich and poor, high and low, with a sense of the sacredness 
of the hour listened attentively amid smiles and tears, to the words 
of the speakers. 

Mr. William D. Upshaw opened the exercises with a very beauti- 
ful tribute to Mr. Jones, and then turned the services over to ex- 
Governor Northen, who presided. After prayer by Dr. C. E. Dow- 
man, of the First Methodist church, Governor Northen spoke briefly 
of Mr. Jones, saying he stood for three things : First, for a strong 
conviction of duty ; second, for a great purpose in life ; and third, for 
a remarkable individuality. He labored for God and humanity, said 
the Governor, and labored in his own individual way. He was al- 

(399) 



400 Sam P. Jones. 

ways himself and never tried to be anything but himself. He was 
unique in the service of God and humanity. 

There were brief addresses by Mr. Reuben Arnold, Mr. J. K. Orr, 
Dr. Chas. O. Jones, Chief Henry Jennings, Dr. C. E. Dowman, and 
Rev. Walt. Holcomb. 

The service was interspersed with several beautiful gospel songs, 
which were some of Mr. Jones's favorites. Mr. Edwin R. Smoot 
sang "I Want to Go There" ; Mr. Charlie Tillman sang, "Unan- 
swered Yet"; and Messrs. Tillman and Smoot sang, "Saved by 
Grace." 

REMARKS OF RSUBDN R. ARNOLD AT THE) SAM JONES MEMORIAL,. 

"Lives of great men are the strongest lessons humanity can have. 
It is for this reason biographies are written. It is for this reason we 
scan with close scrutiny the birth, the environment, the growth, the 
characteristics, the successes and the failures which mark the ca- 
reers of the illustrious dead. Well has it been said that the proper 
study of mankind is man. The history of the world, so far as it 
entertains or instructs us, is only the history of the human race. 

"While it is said that no man's life can be truly chronicled until 
the impartial hand of the future historian lifts the veil, still it is a 
glorious sentiment which calls us together over the bier of a departed 
brother to discuss his virtues and glean from his life its teachings. 
In his life Sam Jones has been so recently a part of our country's 
history, that under the inspiration of these surroundings, under the 
spell of this music, I feel that he has burst the cerements of the tomb 
to be with us again. 

"Sam Jones was a pioneer in his particular field of evangelistic 
work. No narrowness of creed held him in its grip. His soul was 
as broad as the universe. No denomination could claim that he be- 
longed peculiarly to it. In death, as in life, he was the common 
property of us all, and before he was surrendered back to the earth, 
it: was meet that his body should lie in state in the marble halls of 
Georgia's Capitol, where the people he loved so well could take a last 
look at his mortal remains. 



Sam P. Jones. 401 

"Mr. Jones's career shows the remarkable possibilities of American' 
life. The opportunities afforded in our republic bring out all of 
merit that there is in every citizen. With no training for the minis- 
try, Mr. Jones rose to heights that few men, bred to the cloth, can 
ever hope to attain. As I listen to the story of his life, it reads like 
some dream. And his was not a career that shot up suddenly, and 
as suddenly, like a rocket, shot down again. He became a fixed star 
in the firmament, and his lustre grew brighter with the years. 

"His career shows that strong traits of character will assert them- 
selves and break through all environment. He began life as a law- 
yer, but that calling did not suit him. His life as a lawyer ended 
with a short period of dissipation. But though dissipated for a 
short season, Sam Jones never could have been anything but a good 
man. This straying away before taking his final step for good made 
him all the stronger when he turned his face towards the light. It 
was impossible for him to have wandered except for a brief season. 
The Arabian philosophers applied to those who were possessed of 
mental vagaries this test : 'If thou be such by the will of God, then 
remain as thou art; but if thou be such as the result of mere pass- 
ing conjuration, then resume again thy former shape.' Sam Jones 
fairly rushed to his great work for which he was, above all men> 
fitted by nature. 

"His methods were not artificial. He talked in simple language^ 
as do all great men. He imitated nobody. He realized the great 
truth that if a man is to have force it is by being himself. He spoke 
great truths in a line which other men would take pages to cover. 
He reached men whom the more scholarly could not impress. There 
is no calculating the good he has done. 

"He was absolutely fearless. Like Brutus, he was armed in hia 
honesty that the threats of the vicious passed him by as the idle, 
wind which he heeded not. 

"And yet with all the force, with all his denunciation of crime and 

vice, there was not the slightest touch of bitterness in anything he 

said. Those who differed with him, respected him. He exemplified 

the great truth that vice and sin are to be denounced, but the poor 

1*3 



402 Sam P. Jonss. 

erring mortals who succumb to them are to be pitied and reformed — 
not hated and driven further from the path of right. 

"He had wonderful balance, common sense and judgment. In 
reading his newspaper articles, I was struck with his knowledge of 
politics, economics and other material questions. 

"But the crowning glory of Sam Jones's method of discourse was 
his never-failing sense of humor. It was this power which attract- 
ed other men and first got their attention. He was then enabled to 
drive home his great truths. 

"In conclusion, let us hope that long may the memory of this 
wonderful man live in our country ; and I am thankful for the priv- 
ilege of being able to say a word in praise of his virtues." 

Dr. Len G. Broughton, pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist church, 
made the closing address, which is as follows : 

"Perhaps there is no man in Atlanta to-day who feels just the 
same kind of sorrow that I feel. Sam Jones and myself were very 
intimate in our relations. I do not know why he should have con- 
descended to be such a close, personal friend to me, but he never- 
theless was one of the best friends I ever had. Two years ago he 
stood on this very platform on the occasion of a welcome service 
arranged for me by my people upon my return from two months' 
preaching engagements in London. Those of us who were present 
at that time will never forget his humorous and at the same time 
beautiful words welcoming me back to my place and to my people, 

"It seems a bit strange that to-day being my first service after my 
return from another preaching engagement in London that I should 
be standing here speaking these words in a memorial service to 
him. It is one of the hardest tasks that I have ever had to perform. 
I first heard of his death off Sandy Hook, as my ship cast anchor, and 
the pilot came on board bringing the mail. The news was conveyed 
to me by my wife. She had just heard it, and hastened to write me. 
I shall never forget the feeling of my heart as I read the sad words : 
'Sam Jones is dead. He died on the train near Little Rock, Ark. 
Sad! sad! sad!' I went immediately to my cabin, shut the door 
behind me, and cried like a child. As soon as I got ashore I hast- 
ened to a telegraph office and telegraphed his good wife, saying: 



Sam P. Jon^s. 403 

'My heart is with you to-day. I leave on the next train for home. 
Can I serve you ?' 

"I had no idea at that time that this memorial service in our Tab- 
ernacle was being arranged, so I telegraphed my assistant, Mr. E. 
H. Peacock : 'Arrange for Sam Jones's memorial at the Tabernacle 
Sunday night/ 

"As I came along down through the States I got the Atlanta 
papers, and they told me of this memorial service which was ar- 
ranged to be held this afternoon, and that I was to be one of the 
speakers. I knew then, of course, that Mr. Peacock would not 
arrange for the service at night ; that this would do for us all. 

"In speaking of Sam Jones, I wish to do so under three differ- 
ent heads : 

"First, Sam Jones as I first knew him; second, as I last knew 
him; and, third, as I shall know him. 

"Sam Jones, as I first knew him, was a curiosity. I came in touch 
with him just after I entered the ministry. I was attending a con- 
vention in Goldsboro, N. C, and he lectured at the opera house. He 
gave his lecture, 'Get There and Stay There/ Well, to say I was 
impressed does not express it. To me, as I now remember him, he 
was the funniest man I ever saw; and then, too, he was the most 
pathetic man I ever saw. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. 
One thing I shall never forget, and that was a story that he told. 
He said when he was a circuit rider in the mountains of Georgia 
an old preacher came to him one day and said : 'Sam, you know I 
can out-preach you any day, and yet the people of my circuit are 
leaving me every Sunday and coming over to hear you preach. I 
want you to tell me why it is, and, if you can, tell me how to prevent 
it; for it has come to pass that I never have more than a baker's 
dozen to hear me/ 

"Sam said : 'My brother, if you will do what I tell you, it will not 
be so. You will have no trouble in keeping your crowd/ 

'"Well," said the old . preacher, 'I will try/ 'No/ said Sam, 
'you must promise to do exactly what I tell you/ 'All right," said 
he, 'anything to get a crowd/ 'All right/ said Sam ; 'next Sunday 
when you go to church begin promptly at n o'clock; announce 



404 Sam P. Jones. 

I 
|! 

your. hymn, read your text, and then stop. You will probably see 
some of the old bench-warmers sitting on the front pews about half 
asleep. Double up your fist, strike the palm of your hand, and say : 
"Boo!" Say it just as loud as you can. If nobody moves, do so 
again, and again ; and still if nobody moves, jump off the platform 
and grab the first one that you come to by the back of the neck and 
pitch him outdoors heels over head. Get back on the platform, look 
out over the house, and you will see the last man going out, and 
he will do what the last man always does, look back to see what is 
taking place. Just as he looks back, double up your fist, strike the 
palm of your hand again and say "Boo !" as loud as you can. He 
will then jump up twenty feet, and light on the ground. Then, you 
make for your old gray mare, say as you go through the yard, 
"Brethren, I will preach here again next Sunday morning at n 
o'clock." If any one starts to you, just say "Boo!" Go home and 
lock yourself up in your room. 

" 'In a few hours' time the reporters from Atlanta will be up. 
They never heard of you before, but they will be there to interview 
you and to see what has come over you. Do not let them into your 
room whatever you do. Finally they will begin to beg, and when 
they do, you put your mouth to the keyhole and whisper, "Boo!" 
Tell them all you have to say is you will preach again next Sunday 
morning at 1 1 o'clock at the same old stand. 

" 'Those reporters will at once leave, and next morning in the At- 
lanta papers there will be great headlines — "Boo! Boo! Boo!" etc. 
Think of it ! Two columns on the front page in the Atlanta papers 
all about you! They have never heard about you before. Next 
Sunday morning go to church, and when you get there you will 
find five thousand people. They will be from all sections round 
about, and at least half a dozen newspaper reporters will be in the 
crowd.' 

" 'Oh, pshaw, Brother Jones,' said the old preacher, 'hush your 
foolishness. What on earth will they be there for?' 'Yes,' said 
Sam, 'that is just exactly what I expected you to ask. That is just 
what I wanted you to ask. They will be there to see and hear a 
man who has done something. That's what they will be there for. 



Sam P. Jones. 405 

The trouble with you, brother, is, you have said enough, but you 
have not done anything, and what this world wants is men who do 
things.' 

"I say I shall never forget this story. I am sure no one else ever 
will after they have heard it. It made a great impression upon me, 
especially coming as it did at the very time I entered the ministry. 
1 am sure I profited by it more than I will ever be able to tell, for 
from that day until this I have tried to do something. I have failed 
in many respects, indeed in most of them ; but it has not been be- 
cause my intentions have not been good. I thank God for that 
story and for the blessing that it brought into my life. This was 
Sam Jones as I first knew him, and through all the years that have 
intervened he has been the same practical, common-sense philoso- 
pher.- I have never seen a day since then that I have not believed in 
him. I have preached with him many a time, and have held meet- 
ings with him. He has held meetings with me. This pulpit has 
always been open to him. He knew it. Whenever he wanted to 
come to Atlanta he felt perfectly free to write me and say : 'An- 
nounce me for Sunday. I will be down to preach for you.' One 
time I remember his calling me up over the 'phone and saying: 
'Don't you think your people need a little stiffening in their back- 
bones ? If so, announce me for Sunday. I will come down and do 
my best.' 

"He was always my friend. By pen and by word he always spoke 
a good word for me. Sometimes I have felt that he did it under 
protest, for I did not see how any man could so completely ignore 
my mistakes to exalt my virtues; but he was always charitable 
enough not to criticise me for my mistakes. No man ever had a 
greater, braver and truer champion than I had in Sam Jones. 

"I want now to say a word about him as I last knew him. It was 
just before I started on my recent trip to England. We met on the 
streets of Atlanta. We talked awhile, and then separated. He 
said to me : 'Broughton, you are going to London. Preach old ser- 
mons while you are there. Take a rest as far as possible, for if you 
don't mind you are going to kill your fool self. You know,' con- 
tinued he, 'you haven't got much sense, and you are working what 



406 Sam P. Jonss. 

you have got mighty hard trying to make up for what you "hain't" 
got.' Everybody knows that this was just like him. He was 
always free with those he loved. They understood it, and thorough- 
ly enjoyed it. I remember during that conversation another thing 
he said. We were talking about our work at the Tabernacle, and 
especially about our Tabernacle Infirmary. He said : 'I know you 
are always in a strain to get money for your different institutions, 
and especially the hospital, but don't worry about those things. If 
you get in a tight, call on me. Take it easy. I am going to be dead 
some day, and I want you to be here to fight when I am gone.' This 
is how he appeared to me when I last knew him, the same jolly, 
joking, optimistic character, full of wit as keen as the point of a 
needle, yet deep in sincerity and forceful in application. 

"He went with the harness on, the same old harness that he had 
worn these years. Unlike many men, he had retained his individ- 
uality, the same individuality that characterized his early life. He 
seemed to have been cut out for a definite work, and God kept him 
straight at it until the day of his death. 

"I wish now to say a word about him as I shall know him, for 
I truly expect some day to strike hands with him again. What a 
great meeting that will be! How interested we will be in each 
other's story ! He will be telling me how he has found it in heaven, 
and I will be telling him how things went on after he left us. It 
will be a great meeting time, for we shall not lose any of our 
friendship by reason of the separation. It was too true for that. 
True friendships are not interrupted by separation. They abide 
forever. 

"But I find that I can not trust myself to speak on this line. Only 
let me give you these words. They seem to suit just here, because 
they draw a contrast between the two worlds, earth and heaven : 

"Down below a sad, mysterious music, 

Wailing from the woods and on the shore ; 
Burdened with a grand, majestic secret, 
Which keeps sweeping from us evermore. 



Sam P. Jones. 407 

"Up above, music that entwineth, 
In eternal threads of golden sound, 
The great poem of this strange existence, 

All whose wondrous meaning hath been found. 

"Down below, the grave within the churchyard, 
And the anguish on the young face pale, 
And the watcher, ever as it dusketh, 
Rocking to and fro with long, sad wail. 

"Up above, a crowned and happy spirit, 
Like an infant in the eternal years, 
Who shall grow in light and love forever, 
Ordered in his place among his peers. 

"Oh, the sobbing of the winds of autumn! 
Oh, the sunset streak of stormy gold ! 
Oh, the poor heart, thinking in the churchyard, 
Night is coming and the grave is cold! 

"Oh, the rest forever, and the rapture! 
Oh, the hand that wipes the tears away ! 
Oh, the golden homes beyond the sunset! 
Oh, the God — that watches o'er the clay!" 



Tribute by the Rev. A. W. Lamar. 

The death of Rev. Sam P. Jones was a national loss. No man 
who has lived in America has ever spoken to so many people as he. 
For thirty years he went up and down the land preaching civic 
righteousness; preaching temperance; preaching family religion; 
preaching salvation. He gathered and held longer greater audiences 
than any man of whom history tells. There was a charm to his 
wonderful voice; there was a fascination in his quaint and homely 
way of putting things ; there was a keen edge to his sarcasm ; there 
was a spontaniety to his wit that astonished ; his repartee was in- 



408 Sam P. Jon*;s. 

vincible; his humor disarming; his reasoning cogent and unan- 
swerable; his philosophy was deep, underlying even his most 
trivial utterances; his eloquence was often sublime and overpower- 
ing. He had the eye of the eagle for seeing things afar, and the 
heart of goodness to love the truth seen. He understood human 
nature in all its moods and tenses, and he knew how to play upon 
every string of the harp of a thousand strings. He understood, as 
few public speakers understand, the uses of humor and pathos in 
public address. For this reason his spiritual surgery amputated 
more limbs than any other spiritual surgeon, and killed fewer 
patients. 

Princely soul ! Generous ! Gentle ! Fearless ! Gifted above the 
millions of men, yet full of true humility ! Lover of God, and lover 
of men — will this earth ever hear again the voice or throb to the 
footfall of another like him? 



CHAPTER XIJ, 



Appreciations prom Distinguished Men. 



Bishop O. P. Fitzgerald. 
One of the Bishops of the M. E. Church, South. 

Sam Jones ! that is what we loved to call him while he was yet 
with us. That is what we love to call him now since he is gone. 
The familiar name — a household word in all this land we love — 
meant so much that was dear and sacred to us. It meant more than 
can be known fully by any man who did not know Sam Jones. 

Sam Jones ! The name with us stood for a courage that stood all 
tests. In its mildest manifestation that courage amounted to au- 
dacity. In its highest sweep it reached a moral sublimity that it 
would not be easy to describe in words. Sam Jones fought real 
evils that had strong defenders. He knowingly roused the wrath 
of enemies who hated him for his cause's sake. Every evil thing 
felt weaker when he was in the midst. 

The coming of Sam Jones always made a stir ! It meant a fight 
between darkness and light. Sam Jones in Atlanta, Nashville and 
elsewhere was like Paul at Ephesus : the men who sold the whisky, 
shuffled the cards, and ran the faro banks in these American cities 
acted like the makers of the shrines of the goddess Diana. They 
attacked Sam Jones for the same reason ; their craft was in danger 
as long as that voice of the man of God was left free to speak the 
truth. That voice burnt in their consciences like fire. 

Sam Jones ! To us that name stood for a faith like that described 
in that precious eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
telling us of "the elders who by faith obtained a good report." When 
the telegram went from lip to lip in Nashville saying, "Sam Jones 

(409) 



410 Sam P. Jones. 

is dead !" great was the shock in all circles. It seemed to me almost 
as if an audible voice whispered in my inner ear : Another name for 
that list of worthies who by faith obtained a good report. 

Sam Jones's faith was the secret of his power. He had the faith 
that took Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. His faith was 
choice: the way was plain, the truth was clear, the life was real. 
If Sam Jones ever had doubts, he never carried them into the pul- 
pit. No, no! he carried them to God in the secret place, that God 
who sees in secret and rewards openly his faithful servants. If a 
poor, bewildered, despondent soul came to hear the gospel as Sam 
Jones preached it, he felt the touch of a man with the power of a 
mighty faith in God.- 

Sam Jones spoke the language of certainty in the pulpit. Con- 
version as he knew it brought a great peace to the pardoned soul. 
Consecration as Sam Jones knew it and preached meant a complete 
self -dedication to God that brought from God a joy that was divine. 

Sam Jones, when he drew the line between the church and the 
world, describing the joys that last in contrast with the things that 
perish with the using, had in his testimony the note of victory from 
a man who had fought that battle and won it. That note of cer- 
tainty in his preaching was the outcome of an experience that was 
all his own. What he had felt and seen with confidence he told. 

Sam Jones did verily possess that power of faith that produced 
its fruits as described by the apostle Paul in Hebrews xi. 23, 24 : 
"Subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises. ,, 

The victories of Sam Jones were the victories of faith — the faith 
that chooses Christ, the faith that believes Christ, the faith that 
obeys Christ, the faith that receives with holy gratitude the peace, 
the love, the power that Christ imparts to the receptive soul. 

Sam Jones was so very human that he got close to all sorts of 
people. That humanness in him made his pathos irresistible. Sam 
Jones was akin to every one who had known trouble. And that 
took us all in, for none have escaped. He was a follower and an 
apostle of that Christ who to those that were able to bear it made 
sorrow the badge of discipleship and the door of entrance into the 
larger liberty and clearer light promised to those who are told that it 



Sam P. Jones. 411 

they ffer with Him here they shall also be glorified together with 
Him. 

Sam Jones's gospel was a glad gospel. His Saviour was a Sa- 
viour mighty to save. 

But Sam Jones, it goes without saying, was not blind to the tragic 
side of this world whose mysteries we can not fathom, this world 
whose tragedies were deep enough to bring to its rescue the Son of 
Cod, this lost world which He came to seek and to save. Sam 
Jones's conception of sin was bitter ; he had felt its sting ! He had 
wrestled with its mystery; he had groaned under its intolerable 
burden. He looked upon sin as the enemy of God and the destroyer 
of men. To Sam Jones Satan was no abstraction or creature of the 
imagination, the imaginary head of a shadowy kingdom of dark- 
ness. No, no! The hell against which Sam Jones warned his 
hearers he described in New Testament language. It should not be 
thought strange that those warnings, thus expressed, were so often 
attended by that strange power of conviction accompanying New 
Testament truth expressed in its own very words. Yes, truly, Sam 
Jones believed in a God who hated sin. The lurid pictures he drew 
of the sinfulness of sin, and of the doom of the sinner unrepentant 
and unpardoned could not have been drawn in milder colors by an 
honest preacher who believed what Sam Jones professed to believe. 
He was awfully in earnest, and that earnestness expressed itself in 
the language of the Book itself — and this was a secret of Sam 
Jones's power. 

But the secret that lay deepest of all is found in the fact that the 
Holy Ghost bore witness to the truth as it is in Jesus, according to 
His own promise, and in the use of His own marvelous methods. 
To Sam Jones the Pentecostal dispensation meant the coming of 
Pentecostal power whenever and wherever it was invoked under 
Pentecostal conditions. Sam Jones was a battery charged, and 
trailed directly against the forces of evil. Bless his brave, true 
heart ! His answer to the threats that were sometimes made against 
him was usually expressed in terms of mingled defiance, ridicule and 
pity toward those who threatened. 

That last element of Sam Jones's power — a pity that was like the 



412 Sam P. Jone;s. 

pity of the pitying Christ for sinners — was the chief element of his. 
power as an evangelist. That pity can have but one Source. It can 
not be counterfeited successfully. It can not be resisted by even the 
coldest and hardest hearts. The preaching that lacks this pity, 
whatever else it may have that might commend it to the carnally- 
minded, is only a sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal. The love 
of Christ constrained Sam Jones. That love he expressed mostly in 
Christ's own way, reciting to the people in Christ's own words what 
He had said, or illustrating His love by Christ's own acts. 

In one of Sam Jones's evangelistic gatherings there was usually 
that which reminded us of New Testament times and doings. The 
great crowds, the tenderness that melted all hearts, the satire that 
made sin look so cheap and silly, the methods that broke over all 
conventionalities — what came with Sam Jones was something like 
what is here described. It got to be so that where he came at the 
call of any community, a great stir of this sort was looked for, and 
there was no disappointment — for God was with him. The notes 
of victory in his last battle were still in his ears when he started to 
his home in the Georgia hills, but, as it proved to be, to that home 
prepared for him by his Lord up yonder where sin and sorrow can 
not enter. To that home Sam Jones had directed many in the name 
of his Master. They are together with Him now. 

Among the readers of this chapter those who know. Sam Jones 
as I did will repeat with me the words we find in i Corinthians 1 5 : 
57 : "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 

Nashville, Tenn. 

ReX J. Wilbur Chapman., D.D., 
Secretary General Assembly's , Committee on Evangelistic Work. 

It has been my privilege to know Rev. Sam P. Jones for a number 
of years. I first heard him in 1887 when I was a pastor in Albany, 
N. Y., and he was conducting meetings with Prof. E. O. Excell at 
Round Lake, not far from Saratoga Springs. I heard him preach 
a sermon on "All things work together for good," and I can still 
repeat the outline, and remember the sermon as if it were preached 



Sam P. Jones. 413 

yesterday, and the impression it made upon me. I came away from 
that service with one of the most distinguished preachers in our 
country, and I heard him say after he had listened to the same ser- 
mon : "I have heard to-day the greatest preacher which it has ever- 
been my privilege to hear." 

I consider Sam Jones one of the most remarkable men of his 
generation. He was peculiarly called to God to rebuke sin. His 
wit and his wisdom came from an inexhaustible source of supply. 
He was not always understood. Now that he is gone, however, 
the references of all the newspapers to him, almost without excep- 
tion, say that he has made his place in church history, and the fol- 
lowers of Jesus Christ, not only to-day, but in days to come, will; 
rise up to call him blessed. 

He loved God, as was clearly indicated in his preaching, and he. 
loved men. Some of the greatest sermons that have ever been de- 
livered to men flowed from his lips and rose from the depths of his. 
heart. God not only gave him wide observation and a great expe- 
rience, but he trained him through trial and suffering to be the man 
that he was. 

And yet I am told that no one knew Mr. Jones until they had met 
him in his own household. I have a vivid picture in my mind now 
of his being at the World's Fair at St. Louis with the most of his. ; 
family, and it was a constant delight to me to look across the dining-, 
room of the hotel and see his face wreathed in smiles as he talked 
with those whom he loved. 

A friend of mine who was recently his guest, says that he was a, 
veritable priest in his own household, and that the members of his 
family loved him with a passionate devotion. He was as true as, 
steel, and as honest as the day is long. 

He was the most generously paid man on the platform to-day, 
and yet he was constantly giving to those who were in distress. It 
was his delight to work beyond his strength that he might have, 
wherewith to give to those who needed it. 

Two of my friends who have labored with him constantly, each 
said the same thing, without knowing that the other^said it — "Sam 
Jones was the cleanest, whitest and purest man in all this world.' ' 
Personally, I thank God that he ever lived. 



CHAPTER XUL 



Appreciations prom Distinguished Men. 



Sam Jones Dead! 
hon. john temple graves. 

If the brief, startling message of the morning wires be verified 
by later dispatches, Sam Jones, of Georgia, the most famous evan- 
gelist of modern times, has been gathered swiftly and suddenly into 
reward and rest. 

If it be true — and there are few possibilities of mistake— the end 
has come as Sam Jones would have it come. In the full flush of a 
glorious and militant life, on the march, in full harness, with eyes 
bright, with record clear, with the conscience clean, with the echoes 
of applause and laughter and cheers yet ringing in his ears, the 
dauntless evangel, the vital reformer, the militant preacher, the 
eloquent orator, the unequaled humorist, without suffering, without 
waiting and without anxiety, answers the instant roll-call and is 
dismissed from present service and promoted to a higher and a 
nobler sphere. 

A brave man physically, Sam Jones was a brave man morally, 
and spiritually without fear. The problem of death had faced him 
as an imminent issue more than once during the years of feeble 
health about him, and we may be sure there were no coward tremors 
and no shrinking back when the death angel swooped with his 
sudden summons to the great tribunal where men must give ac- 
count. 

And the great evangel had small need to fear the verdict of the 
Supreme Justice who presided there. His was a faithful and a 

(414) 



Sam P. Jonss. 415 

fearless life. He had been true since the plighting of his faith to 
Christ. To strike and spare not, was the motto with which he 
faced the sinner. To help and rescue, was the second motto which 
redeemed the fearless first. He was as swift to succor as he was 
to smite. He was as tender in healing as he was terrible in arouse- 
ment. And the terror of many an awakened sinner had been soft- 
ened in the tenderness of a penitent's forgiven tears. And through 
terror and through conscience, through tenderness and tears, he 
had fought the Master's fight, he had gathered the Master's peo- 
ple, and roused and comforted, and wounded and healed, and in 
the crowds that followed him, and in the multitudes which heard 
him, as they heard his Master, gladly, he had justified the commis- 
sion which had been given him to preach a real gospel to a dying 
world. 

If in the darkness and loneliness of a night upon the rushing rail, 
the brave, bright soul of the evangelist went out to meet its Maker 
all alone, we may be sure that the tears and the tenderness, the 
love and the laughter, the fear and the faith, the hope and the 
heartfulness of the thousands who had followed him through life, 
were crowned by the "well done" of the Elder Brother who held 
his hand as they walked through the last shadows to the light and 
beauty of the Father's throne. 

BY HON. WIUJAM JENNINGS BRYAN. 

"Sam Jones, the famous evangelist, died last week, and his death 
removes from the scene of action a man whose life-work resulted in 
great and permanent good to the world. His earnestness, his evi- 
dent sincerity and his plain, common-sense way of putting things, 
made him a favorite with the people. No one ever was in doubt as to 
where Sam Jones stood on any question confronting the people, and 
many of his quaint and blunt sayings have passed into proverbs. 

"Many years ago Sam Jones was engaged in a great union revival 
meeting at Plattsburg, Mo. One of the visiting ministers asked him 
one day why he did not use better language and refrain from so 
many 'slang' expressions. 'My dear brother,' replied Mr. Jones, 



416 Sam P. Jones. 

'I am a fisher of men. I judge the efficacy of my bait by the results 
1 get. When one of your soft-spoken, namby-pamby little preachers 
can show a bigger string of fish than I can I'll try his kind of bait.' 

"For a quarter of a century Sam Jones was a prominent figure in 
the pulpit and on the lecture platform, and if life is measured by 
what men put into it, instead of what men get out of it, then Sam 
Jones's life was a success. 

"Sam Jones had a great mind, directed by a great heart; an elo- 
quent tongue enlisted on the side of humanity; a marvelous energy 
employed for the improvement of society." 

In Memoriam — Sam Jones, 
by hon. thomas e- watson. 

"That was bad about Sam Jones, wasn't it?" he asked, meaning, 
of course, the sudden death of the great evangelist on a railway car. 

No, it was not bad. It was, in many respects, an ideal departure 
from this terrible world. He had lived his brightest day, had done 
his best work — and he fell in the midst of his renown, before the 
benumbing murmur began to buzz in his ears, "He is not what he 
once was." 

He had just closed a great series of religious meetings. For days 
and days he had been doing the Master's work, living face to face 
with the Most High. Not lecturing for money. No ! Preaching the 
Gospel of the good life, of the salvation free for all. 

With the benediction on his lips he passed away. With a prayer 
in his soul, his great heart ceased to throb. 

Like the soldier who falls in the battle-line, after he has fought 
a good fight and won the field, so fell Sam Jones. 

Bad? No, by the splendor of God! It was a glorious death, a 
beautiful death, an enviable death. 

The night before he was killed, Caesar heard his companions dis- 
cussing the question of what kind of death was most to be desired. 
He was busy with affairs of state, but he paused in his work to ex- 
press his opinion of the death which was most to be desired : "That 
which is least expected." Next day he got it. 



Sam P. Jones. 417 

Think of what was spared to Sam Jones. There was no heart- 
rending torture of protracted pain. There was no dreary* martyr- 
dom of bedridden sickness. The wife of his youth was at his 
side; the infinite peace of God was in his heart. 

What more? There had been no pitiable decay of intellect, no 
saddening decline of influence, no loss of the ear of the world, no 
dropping away of friends. 

Yet he must have known that, if he continued to live, from year 
to year, inexorable Fate would drag him nearer the bleak regions 
of Old Age wherein one's Joys steadily diminish and one's Sorrows 
remorselessly multiply. 

Bad ? No, it was not bad. Providence let him win success when 
it was still sweet to the taste, and then mercifully took him away 
from the horrors of that pathetic decay, that appalling process of 
going back to childhood — that second childhood which has all the 
helplessness of the first, with nothing to disguise, alleviate or offset 
its repulsiveness. 

Did I not see the once lordly Robert Toombs totter about in the 
care of a man-servant, too feeble of mind and body to be trusted to 
travel alone? Did not Alexander H. Stephens linger upon the 
stage until it gave one the heartache to hear him try to make a 
speech ? 

Would it not have been a mercy of heaven if the stroke of paraly- 
sis which struck down William H. Crawford at the height of his 
fame, and powers, had stretched him dead? What did it leave of 
that greatest of Georgians but a broken mind in a broken body ? 

Ah, give me that beautiful death which saves me from the un- 
utterable miseries of senility and decay. 

God knows there's little enough in life, even at its best; but the 
crudest weakness which nature curses us with is the timorous cling- 
ing to life when there's nothing left to live for. 

Marlborough in his dotage — too melancholy to contemplate! 

Dean Swift a driveller and a show — the mind recoils from the 
spectacle. 

Sir Walter Scott still trying to write when all the force and fire 
and creative genius were gone — pitiful to the last degree. 



418 Sam P. Jonss. 

Napoleon in captivity, fat to unwieldiness, querulous, vainly beat- 
ing his broken wings against the bars of his cage, garrulously hold- 
ing forth upon the glories of his past — it is too sad for words. 
Better, a thousand times better, had he died at Waterloo with his 
face to the front — spur on heel, blade in hand. 

Mozart died beautifully — while they chanted the Requiem which 
marked the high-tide of his genius. 

Mirabeau died grandly — while he still stood in the midst of the 
French people, an Atlas bearing social order upon his back. 

William Pitt died enviably — in the prime of his strength, while 
still the uncrowned monarch of Great Britain. 

Stonewall Jackson died gloriously — with the praise of his chief 
warming his heart, the shouts of victory gladdening his ears, and 
- the faith of a Christian robbing death of its sting. 

Henry Grady died a lamentable death — for he seemed to die too 
soon. His serious life-work seemed just begun. To be stricken 
down and consigned to chill darkness and forgetfulness when his 
youthful strength was so abundant, his blood so warm and eager^ 
his feet so ardent for the march, his arm so strong for the fight — 
it seemed a hard, unmeaning fate. 

But Sam Jones was nearing threescore years. The heat and 
burden of the day were behind. The best of his strength was spent. 
The glory of the afternoon had come — and the twilight could not 
be far away. Better that he should wear out and not rust out, 
better that he should fall with his armor on, victorious to the last, 
than fret and pine away amid the shadows of mocking memories. 

To me, then, it seems that he died as he would have chosen to 
die — in a blaze of glory. Sooner or later the few, the very few, 
who really love us must weep at our graves— a difference of a few 
days, or a few months, will not lessen the sorrow. Not all the 
preaching since Adam has made death other than death; and the 
grief of those who survive the beloved dead is a burden which 
humanity allows no affectionate soul to escape. 

God pity the bereaved wife! God pity the stricken. children. 

As to Sam Jones himself, he had lived a great life, and he met 
a glorious death. No braver soldier of the cross ever stormed the 



Sam P. Jones. 419 

citadel of sin. No uniformed follower of Lee or Grant ever marched 
with greater purpose or fought with greater pluck. Against vice 
in all its forms, he brought every weapon known to the armory of 
right, and he used them with a force and skill and tireless energy 
which made him the most powerful evangel of Christ that recent 
history has known. 

Brilliant, witty, wise, eloquent, profound in his knowledge of 
the human heart, no man ever faced an audience who could so 
easily master it. 

From laughter to tears, from indifference to enthusiasm, from 
levity to intense emotion, he could lead the multitude at his will. 
Under his magnetism and will-power the brazen libertine blushed 
for shame, the hardened criminal trembled in fear, smug respecta- 
bility saw its shortcomings, sham Christians forgot to be self-com- 
placent, social hypocrites fell upon their knees, and the miser opened 
his purse. 

I met Sam Jones in 1879, when he was poor and unknown. He 
came, unheralded, to conduct a revival in our town. I heard him 
preach a few times, recognized a genius, and predicted his renown. 
His wonderful career, afterwards, was no surprise to me. Since 
that day, in 1879, when we took each other by the hand — two poor 
and unknown young men — I have been his admirer, his friend, 
ever glorying in his rise. 

Yet, in all our passing to and fro, we met but twice in the sub- 
sequent twenty-seven years, and then for a moment only. Now 
and then we hailed each other from a distance, through the news- 
papers, but we met no more. He moved in his orbit, I in mine, and 
each had his work to do. And now his is done, and well done. 

He was the greatest Georgian this generation has known; the 
greatest, in some respects, that any generation has known. 

"Duty is the sublimest word in the language," said Robert E. 
Lee, himself the flower of Anglo-Saxon manhood. 

That Sam Jones fell at the post of sacred duty — died with the 
Master's message to erring man fresh from his lips — seems to me 
beautifully fitting, superbly appropriate. 

Once he said, touchingly, "When all grows dark and doubtful — 



420 Sam P. Jones. 

human wisdom failing — and I can not see my way, I lift my helpless- 
hand, and pray : 'Father, take Thou my hand/ " 

Somehow, somewhere, it must be that heroic souls find, in better 
worlds than this, tasks which are worthy of their diviner gifts. All 
this, and more, some day we'll understand. "Father, take Thou my 
hand," the loyal soul prayed; and now, in His own good time, He- 
has taken it. 



BOOK FOUR 



Sayings 



CHAPTER XUII. 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones. 

"Our church don't forbid dancing," exclaims one. Which is 
your church ? All of the grand churches of the land are outspoken 
against it. If any church sanctioned dancing I would not stay in the 
little thing long enough to get my hat — I would run out bareheaded. 

I wouldn't give the spirit of the old negro woman down South 
for all of the alleged faith of some Christians. She was coming 
down the street with a big basket of clothes, singing happily as a 
lark, when a citizen said to her : "Good morning, aunty ; you seem 
to be happy as a lark this morning." "Well," said she, "I is, boss." 
"Have you any money laid up?" "No, boss, I hasn't." "Have you 
a home?" "No, boss." "Well, how do you live?" "I washes 
fur it," said she. "The Lord is my shepherd and I ain't gwine to 
want." 

"Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation." When 
God's dinner-bell rings all you want is an appetite, and you can 
walk in and there's a place for you. 

I despise to see a man who knows more than everybody else in 
the community, and who does not know enough to behave himself. 
Some men have not got sense enough to be decent. 

Don't imagine that because you have burned up no meeting-house 
and killed no preachers you will get in at the fool's door. 

Don't allow your boys to learn gambling at home, and then you, 
in a hypocritical old age, go around bewailing their fate. A woman 
in Chicago told me her husband worked hard all day, and she played 
cards with him every night to amuse him. I told her to ship him to 
an asylum, for there they play cards for amusement. A game of 
cards is the game of starvelings, mentally and spiritually. Sisters, 

(423) 



424 Sam P. Jones. 

you who have such husbands, I tell you what to do: Buy him a 
tin horse and a tin horn. Make him straddle the tin horse and blow 
the horn for him. Sister, don't let the children laugh at him. Tell 
the children that their little papa has worked hard all day, and 
wants to be amused. Sister, sister, get him a tin horse. 

God have mercy on men who have not got sense enough to be 
faithful to the vows made to % their wives ! 

I can stand anything better than I can stand a hypocrite. I al- 
ways did have a hatred for shams and humbugs and cheats, and of 
all the humbugs that ever cursed the universe, I reckon the religious 
humbug is the humbuggiest. 

Now the general pulpit style of America is about like this : "Here 
I am, Rev. Jeremiah Jones, D.D., saved by the grace of God with 
a message to deliver. If you repent and believe what I believe, you 
will be saved, but if you do not, you will be damned, and I don't 
care much if you are." 

I 'am sorry for the preacher that has got so low down in his the- 
ology that he is trying to establish the fact that there is no hell. I 
know of men trying to establish the fact that there is no hell. A 
gentleman said to me a few days ago that the fact was nearly es- 
tablished. I said to him : "When did you start your exploring 
party down there, and when will they return to report?" 

The infidelity that is hurting the church in this nineteenth cen- 
tury is not theoretical infidelity; the infidelity that is demoralizing 
the church and the world is practical infidelity: the fellow that be- 
lieves the Bible and won't do one thing. Now you have got a fool 
and a rascal mixed in one compound. It is the most awful com- 
pound that Christ ever tackled. He believes in prayer-meetings, 
but he has not been to one this year ; he believes in the missionary 
cause, but he gets out with the least he can give; he believes in 
family prayer, but you can't prove it by his wife and children. He 
goes on the principle that he that believeth not shall be damned, and 
he believes in everything. If your sort was put on the market and 
everybody felt toward you as I do, you would not bring much — 
you would not. j 



Sam P. Jo^ES. 425 

The church of God is the last place to be solemn in, provided you 
have lived right. If I have lived a true and upright life, when I 
meet Christians I will smile. If I have been swindling widows and 
dishonoring my God and myself, when I come to church there will 
naturally be the solemnity of the graveyard. 

I have met with hard old sinners who have said that church 
members have stood in their way. I don't wonder at this. Why, 
some church members gouge each other. Some borrow money from 
each other and never pay it back. Some backbite each other. No 
wonder they go for old sinners. I never call any names, brothers, 
but each fellow knows his number when I hit him. Let's get right, . 
and there will be found enough water in the fountain of life to wash 
away every speck of dirt. 

ThErE are old money-lenders in this city who, if they were to 
get to heaven, would not be there three weeks before they would 
want to set up a sort of corner-lot business. 

Quit your meanness, and tell God you mean it, if you wish to be 
saved. You need not be skipping around the Lord with the devil's 
old musket on your shoulder. 

God pity the man that is boarding with his wife in a fifty-thou- 
sand-dollar mansion, and is cheating the widow and orphan ! 

"I have doubts," says one. Well, you just quit your meanness 
and you will quit doubting. 

Fiviv tell you one thing, riches you get wrongly will not only curse 
you, but will curse your family after you are dead and gone. I 
was talking this evening about the ill-gotten gain of some man in 

. A poor family was found by a reporter starving to 

death and nearly frozen in the late cold spell, and when they came 
to find the cause it was found that they were making garments for a 

house in that was paying fifteen cents a dozen. That 

sort of money will turn into brimstone, and you will carry enough 
brimstone to hell with you to burn you forever, if that's the way 
you get your money. I will tell you another thing: Fifteen cents 
a dozen for making garments is communistic fire that will burn this 
country up some of these days. 



426 Sam P. Jones. 

I 

What is hell at last? It is the very quintessence of selfishness 

and selfishness is hell. There is not an element in hell that does not 
enter into selfishness, and the supremely selfish man has already 
lighted the fires of hell in his soul that shall burn forever. 

Sin is the one thing in the universe that permanently damages 
a man and eternally damns him. Disappointment may worry him, 
and grief may sadden him, and adversity may bring hardship and 
hunger to his life, but blessed be God, sin is the only thing in the 
universe that can leave its permanent mark on character — a mark 
which shall last forever. 

One sin is enough to cut the soul adrift from God. I've seen 
men who were not afraid to die ; but I never saw a man who was not 
afraid of the judgment-bar of God. 

There is nothing in grace that will make you a sober man with 
a quart of whisky in your stomach. 

L,ET us quit drinking, boys. A dram-cup in my hand broke my 
father's heart. Quit drinking, boys. It'll drive the roses from 
your wife's cheeks, and they will never come back again. 

From a governor down to a dog pelter, I would not vote for a 
man that touches, tastes or handles whisky to save my life, and 
you can never redeem America with a legislature whose breath is 
tainted with whisky. 

I have never seen but one man in America that would stand up 
and say he drank whisky and never told his wife a lie about it. 
Have you got one here to-day ? Is there a man who drinks whisky 
that never told his wife a lie about it? If there is, stand up. I 
want to see you. I expect some of you would have stood up, but 
your wives are with you and you don't want to be caught in a lie. 

This liquor traffic has come down to where it is a question of 
blood and death and hell. These women are getting tired of seeing 
their husbands go down to drunkards' graves; these mothers are 
tired of seeing their sons go to a drunkard's hell. 

I WENT down into the dirt to bring back a wayward son to a good 
woman, and she turned up her nose at me. God help you to turn 



Sam. P. Jones. 427 

up your noses at your drunken husbands and boys, and not at the 
man who brings them back to God. 

Watch the association of your children. Do not allow your 
boys to go with young, rich debauchees simply for the money. Why, 
some of these scoundrels can get drunk on Saturday night and 
then on Sunday evening go to church with the sweetest girl in the 
family. We need some old-fashioned daddies who would meet 
these young bucks at the door and kick them clean out into the 
street. Some girls in a Southern city married a lot of fellows to 
reform them. That town soon had a batch of whippoorwill widows. 

We are all created on a common platform ; we are all redeemed 
on a common platform. When God gave one a chance he threw the 
gates open to all. 

Itf God will empty your heads and hearts of all the error you 
have packed away in them, I will preach enough truth to save you 
to-night. 

That old Colonel will sit out there on the street and pronounce 
his opinion, so and so. Young men will say, "It is my opinion." 
They got that from the old Colonel, and he got it fresh from hell. 
They all say, "My opinion." Very few men think. One or two 
great minds do the thinking for Europe. One or two great minds 
do the thinking for America. 

A man incased in" his own opinions is beyond the reach of the 
power of God. See the old farmer in the house smoking quietly : a 
storm gathers, and a cloud loaded with electricity is overhead ; the 
lightning strikes the rod on the chimney and throws itself into the 
earth, and the farmer sits and smokes as if nothing had happened. 
The gospel of Christ flashes above the heads of the multitude and 
descends with sin-killing power, and strikes this outside incasement 
of every man's own opinions, and runs off into the earth. 

The less sense a fellow has, and the less he thinks, the more opin- 
ions he has. 

What is culture worth if it is but the whitewash on a rascal? 
I would rather be in heaven learning my A Bc's than sitting in 
hell reading Greek. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

If a man hasn't enough religion to pray in his family, he hasn't 
■enough to take him to heaven. 

Take an ordinary Methodist, now a backslider, and strike him 
down with a six-weeks' spell of typhoid fever, and you can do more 
to get him better spiritually than by preaching five hundred sermons. 
Shake a sinner over a coffin and turn him loose and he will hit the 
ground running a mile a minute. 

Going to church is like going shopping: you generally get what 
you go for — no more and no less. A woman will go into a store 
with a hundred thousands dollars' worth of goods all around her, 
buy a paper of pins and walk out; that is all she came for. 

At every conference you notice delegations going up to the bishop 
from the leading churches. One delegation will go to the bishop 
and say: "Bishop, we want you to send us a preacher this year 
that is popular with the young people." Another delegation will 
say : "We want you to send us a preacher that is popular with other 
denominations." Another crowd will go in and say : "Please send 
us a preacher that is popular with sinners." Another crowd will 
say: "Send us a preacher that is popular with everybody." But 
I tell you that I never heard of a delegation going up to conference 
and asking the bishop to "Please send us a preacher that is popular 
with God Almighty." 

I am willing for anybody to have more money than I have, and 
more land than I ever expect to have, and more stocks and bonds 
than I can ever get, but I am not willing for any man that walks this 
earth to have more religion than I have. I can get as much as a soul 
full, and that's about as much as an angel can get. If I am a Chris- 

(428) 



Sam P. Jones. 429 

tian I will be a Christian ; if I am a Methodist, I will be a Methodist ; 
if I am a Presbyterian, I will be a Presbyterian, and if I am a Bap- 
tist, I will be a Baptist. I am going to be one all over, through and 
through, but I wouldn't be a little old dried-up, knock-kneed, one- 
horse, shriveled nothing anywhere. 

I don't care what a man says he believes with his lips ; I want 
to know with a vengeance what he says with his life and actions. 

Did you ever look at your heart until you saw it? You have 
glanced at it. The hardest thing a fellow ever tried to do in this 
world is to be good with a bad heart. A man was once trying to 
cleanse out his spring. He was working and tugging away, when 
a stranger came along and said, "Say, look here; take that hog out 
of the spring, and all will be well." Many a man is trying to cleanse 
the spring of his life with the devil wallowing in the fountain. 

The best way in the world to kill a fellow is to love him to death ; 
then you don't have to bury him. 

You turn the lovable side of your character on everybody else, 
and everybody will love you. You turn the unlovable side of your 
character to every one, and they will do the same. I moved into 
a settlement once, and the man I lived next-door neighbor to was 
not liked by anybody, and he did not like anybody. I went in there 
and turned the lovable side of my character to him, and he did the 
same to me. I found out that when he came there he had turned 
the unlovable side of his character to every one, and every one had 
turned their unlovable side to him. 

Fve heard it said that God loves good people and hates bad 
people. Glad it's a lie. God loves the meanest man that curses 
this world to-day as much as he loves the best man on earth. A 
mother has five boys. Four of them are preachers, the other is 
dissipated, godless, bad. You can go to that mother's house and 
say what you please about those preachers, but don't you say any- 
thing against poor John. If you do the mother will jump on you 
in a minute. She doesn't allow anybody to say anything about John. 



430 Sam P. Jones. 

Love is not only the divinest and sublimest, but the most omnipo- 
tent power in the world. 

He who loves the most is the one who's got the immortal capital. 
God give me love for a millionaire field in heaven. You'll have 
plenty of elbow-room there. Thank God I've not got anything in 
this world to forgive. I shall never get mad with any man unless 
he treats me worse than I have treated the Lo'rd Jesus Christ. 

If everybody on earth loved God supremely and his neighbor as 
himself, then we would have a heaven on earth, and we would need 
no more restraints on earth than they need in heaven. 

You goody-goody church folks are going around the whole Chris- 
tian world to-day singing, 

"Oh, to be nothing, nothing." 

and you have sung it until it has got to be true of you. That is just 
about the way the whole thing has come out — just nothing. If 
you want to be nothing, just lam in. I don't ! I want to be a man, 
and I want to be something, and somebody, and I want to go some- 
where when I die, and I would rather go to hell than to go no- 
where. 

"Gentleness."" Beecher once had a horse brought to him for a 
buggy-ride, and he asked, "Is that horse gentle?" And they an- 
swered: "Yes, sir; he is not afraid of anything in the world, and 
he will work anywhere." And Beecher said: "I wish I had one- 
member in my church like that — not afraid of anything, and will 
work anywhere." I saw a great big fine bay horse once that would 
not work anywhere except to a light, striped buggy. These Sunday 
morning eleven o'clock Christians are striped-buggy fellows. Some 
of you have not been to church only at eleven o'clock Sunday morn- 
ing for years. That is the dress-parade crowd. These striped- 
buggy fellows ! If you were to hitch them up to a prayer-meeting 
they would run away. If you were to hitch one of them up to 
family prayers he would kick the buggy all to pieces. A liberal, 
cheerful, working woman is worth her weight in diamonds to any 
community. 



Sam P. Jones. 431 

Got another class. The class that will go out to battle and the 
very first shot that hits them — "Ouch !" — and they're gone. 

Sometimes a captain gets shot. "I ain't going back any more 
and get shot." 

God will never take this world with the gang He has got on it 
now. 

If you'll give me one thousand people who have religion like 
Peter, James and John I'll take this town. There's plenty of people 
in this city who will come up and say, "Stick it to them, Brother 
Jones. You can't lay it on too hard," and when I ask them to come 
on, they say, "My wife is more feeble than ever before; my three 
children are down with influenza, and I think one of them has got 
heart trouble." 

That's the way of it. 

The wedding over, the honeymoon passed, and years of happi- 
ness come. One day the husband began to drink. There is a vol- 
ume of ten thousand pages in that very sentence. If woman knew 
what it meant. If every man could see into the future. He could 
read it and would not go on. 

The spirit of gentleness and the spirit of temperance. Be not 
only temperate in regard to liquor, but be a total prohibitionist on 
that subject. 

I want to tell you, brethren, that it takes more money to run one 
old red-nosed drunkard than it does to run any member of the 
church in this city. 

Every signature put to a license in this city by the authorities 
stamps the concurrence of every voter in the city in the nefarious 
business. The bar man sells the drug to feed his wife and family, 
and the revenue derived from licenses goes to defray some petty 
matter of lighting or cleaning the streets. The bar man is a gentle- 
man and you are the guilty parties. If I were going to sell whisky 
I would come to Toronto, the nicest city in the world, and get a 
license from the Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians in author- 
ity. When I died I would tell my wife to put the license in my 



432 Sam P. Jones. 

coffin that I might have it when the Angel Gabriel sounded the last 
trumpet to awake the dead to judgment. When God called me to 
account I would pull out my license, signed by the Christian people 
of Toronto, which I paid for, and which authorized me to sell 
whisky, and do you know God would send the whole shebang into 
hell together. 

I want to see a man who drinks whisky and never told a lie 
about it. 

The girl that will marry a boy whose breath smells with whisky 
is the biggest fool angels ever looked at. 

If your husband loves whisky better than he loves you, you had 
better get away from him — the sooner the better. 

Several told me that they drew a long breath of relief when I 
announced that I would carry on a prohibition meeting. 

They say: "I tell you, I think barrooms are better than blind- 
tigers." They want saloons and let hell flourish and heaven rot. 

This is the plain English about the matter. 

What do you think of an elder who has to think of the question 
about barrooms before he can answer? When you ask a preacher 
he says : "Why, I consult my board, and if they are, why I are too." 

How many people do you know who would go to the front ranks 
and spill their last drop of blood for the salvation of these people 
here in this city? 

I don't want to be a gentleman if I have to get drunk. Do you ? 
No man can be a Christian and drink whisky. 
Whip the fight. We can put whisky out of this town if we go 
in to whip the fight. 

A felxow said to me: "I can raise the devil as well as you can, 
but I always get licked." I told him he had better stop. There is 
no use in raising the devil if you are going to get licked. 

I never will be satisfied in Georgia till we put legs on all the bar- 
rels and demijohns in Atlanta and move them away from our boys.. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

How did I become a drunkard? By drinking wine like some of 
you do. If any man had tasted what I have and been where I have 
been, he'd be recreant if he did not preach as I do. You get some 
letters as I do and it would go to your heart. I'm not only not go- 
ing to drink but I'll fight it to perdition, and when perdition freezes, 
then I'll fight it on the ice. If you can make it any stronger than 
that, put my name to it. 

Nobody but an infernal scoundrel will sell whisky, and nobody 
but an infernal fool will drink it. 

Because) you are reckless and can rush into fearful dangers with- 
out a quiver of the muscles. So many men are reckless. An Alpine 
hunter shoulders his gun and walks along an eight-inch path, while 
the dog beside him quivers with fear. Don't rush into the face of 
God at judgment unprepared. At best, we have only threescore 
years and ten. You, with your constitutional vigor, may go to 
seventy and be pouring into your body poison all the time. Strong 
drink sends many a man to his grave twenty years before his time. 
Men are greedy to be lost, and anxious for damnation. 

Temperance is a great regulation force of man's life. No man 
can drink whisky and be a Christian. Bob Ingersoll, the worst 
in the country, says whisky is God's worst enemy and the devil's 
best friend. I never got so low down as to discuss a man who drinks 
vile lager beer. There ain't a four-legged hog in the country that'll 
drink beer. But lots of two-legged hogs will. And the ladies are 
absolutely drinking beer for their health. Shame on them! The 
only hope of America is in her sober mothers, for when they de- 
bauch themselves their children will be born full-fledged drunkards. 
15 j (433) 



434 Sam P. Jones. 

Faith works by love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the 
world. Have you got that ? Then you have got light. 

You don't believe what you don't see. Did you ever see your 
backbone? Some men believe they have a backbone, when it is 
nothing but a cotton string run up their backs. 

ThERE are two different kinds of faith. There is a faith that is 
always in a receptive attitude. With mouth wide open and hands 
extended, about all you hear from that sort is: "Lord, give me 
something." What is it you want? "Oh, just something, that is 
all. Just give me something." Everlastingly on the beg. And 
some people think they can not get along unless they are begging 
all the time. Look here ! Did I tell the truth when I said God was 
our Father and we His children? I know what that relation is. 
Suppose when I go home to my sweet children that every time they 
come around me they are begging: "Papa, please give me some- 
thing; anything you please. Please give me something." Con- 
tinually begging ! Why, I would carry a brush with me whenever 
I went home and give them a good whaling. 

The hardest thing a poor fellow ever tried to do in this world 
is to give himself to God just as he is. He wants to fix up and 
brush up and arrange the matter. Oh, how we do hate to turn just 
such a case over to God! We would like to make him about half 
way what we want him to be before we turn him over. It's the 
hardest job a man ever undertook to turn himself over to God just 
as he is. 

I wii.iv choose to be a Christian and won't bother about God's 
promises. He is not slow to do His part. 

Th£r£ are ten thousand ways to hell and only one to heaven, but 
with a good guide we need have no fear of losing our way. 

The difference between Christ and the modern preacher is that 
Christ said, "Follow me," and the preacher says, "Get down there 
at the altar and agonize." 

Most of the churches of this country are in the wagon. Some 



Sam P. Jones. 435 

singing, some dancing, some cursing, some praying, some drink- 
ing, all in the wagon, and the little poor preacher out in the shafts. 

I TKiyiv you what tickles me: to see an old sinner come in and 
pull out an old, lame, dwarf member of the church, and lay him 
down and measure by him. "Look here, boys ; I am as long and 
broad and good as this member of the church !" I would die, if I 
was a decent man, to lay myself down by the side of such a man. 
Why don't you go and pick out one of these grand old Christians? 
You would look like a rat terrier lying beside an elephant. You 
quit measuring by these dwarfs. 

Every barroom is a recruiting office for hell. 

The wife either makes or unmakes her husband. 

SelF-dEdicaTory love is the very bed-rock and foundation upon 
which you can build a happy married life. 

Take the marital relations. No holier or diviner institution was 
ever known to man. Tamper with it and you are tampering with 
the very foundation of society. Our mothers, the emblems of virtue, 
and our daughters the duplicate of their mothers. If a man tam- 
pers with virtue down there it means two charges of powder and 
a charge of buckshot. 

The first question in this world is this question : "What will be- 
come of my children?" I notice this spring that little Anna has 
on Mary's dresses. Little Mary has outgrown them. I notice that 
little Paul has on Bob's coat. Bob has outgrown it. I say, "Wife, 
see how these little fellows are growing!" but they are growing 
a heap faster in my heart. When they are young they step on 
our toes, and when they are grown up they step on our hearts. Oh, 
you mothers ought to go in partnership with God in rearing your 
children ! 

Thank God for these singing, shouting mothers ! There is 
music in their voices. 



436 Sam P. Jones. 

I f 

God pity a mother that has to send her children to a dancing- 
school to learn grace and manners. 

LET me say in all kindness the reason I despise card-playing, 
drinking, dancing, and all worldliness, is because I know they are 
the subterfuges of the devil to keep us from thinking about our 
immortality. If there is no harm in them, they will curse you for- 
ever, because they will keep your mind off things that will save 
you forever. 

Iff I had ten thousand angels to preach to to-day, every word I 
should say would be pure. Our Saviour preached to men. His 
sermon on the Mount would not have had so much in it about 
adultery if He had been preaching to angels. God keep me dead 
honest in dealing with souls. I want to lay my gun on the rail and 
aim straight. If I hit you on the side, I did not mean to hit you 
there, but right square in the head. If you think I hit you acci- 
dentally, you never made a greater mistake in your life. I hit you 
with malice aforethought. 

But some of you say, "Now, Jones, you are too hard on us. 
This is a hard country. Everybody looks out for himself, and I 
am obliged to live." That's a lie. You ain't. How come you to 
think you are obliged to live? Why, you ain't obliged to live a 
minute, but you are obliged to do right. That's one excuse for 
this roundabout way of serving your Almighty God. 

Just as the makers of a piano can put it in tune, God can set the 
Ten Commandments to music in man's soul, and all will blend 
in perfect beauty and harmony. 

We're mighty like sheep. The tendency of a sheep is to stray 
off. 

When you have spent all, it seems, so far as you are concerned, 
that nobody else has anything. 

Iff I had a thousand tongues they should all talk for Christ; a 
thousand hands, they should all work for Christ; a thousand feet, 
I'd put them all in the way to heaven. 




MR. JONES' LAST PICTURE. 

Taken in April, 1906. 












^? 






*»► 






V. 4gpr 



Sam P. Jones. 437 

David was a great sinner, but he was a first-class repenter. 

-What the alphabet is to a man of learning, repentance is to a 
man going to heaven. 

God don't want anybody to prove anything that is true. 

To get there in the grandest and best sense of the word is to have 
your citizenship on earth pass you to your citizenship in heaven. 

Sometimes a fellow ain't mad about what he's mad about. 

A man will not confess his sins before he quits them. 

The Lord has a magnificent army on dress parade. 

I iyiKE to see the cross fences in the church pastures taken down. 
I like to see the Presbyterian come over in the Methodist pasture 
a while and the Methodist go over and feed on the final persever- 
ance grass awhile. Somehow or another when they come back they 
stick better. 

Good Lord make us so earnest fighting the devil and sin that we 
will forget which our church is. 

A Christian girl runs a great risk when she marries a sinner. 

There are few men in this world better than their wives. 

It ain't whose wife you are, but what sort of a wife that fellow 
has got where you live. 

I bEUEve a blessing is one of two things. It is either given by 
God to man because that man has done his duty and God has paid 
him, or because God knows he has determined to do his duty and 
has paid him on credit. 

It is the little things in this life that keep up the worry. 

Religion, when you boil it down to a concrete, is nothing more 
than something to do, something to love, and something to hope 
for. 



CHAPTER XLVL 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

If I hew to the line and let the chips fly where they will, the 
people say, "Oh, Sam Jones said it. He can say anything." Well, 
now, if I can say anything and if I am the only one that can, then I 
think I ought to keep at it all the time. 

Some people think they can't be pious unless they are everlast- 
ingly begging for something. 

I pray for my daily bread, but I have to hunt for my corn-pone 
with the sweat running down the hoe-handle. 

ThKRE is many a man and woman in this house who have tried 
to raise their son a gentleman, and their daughter a lady. One is 
twenty-one, and the other eighteen. One marries and moves off 
to himself. He is not a Christian, and what a dangerous thing it 
is to project a boy on this world who doesn't know Jesus Christ. 
Your daughter marries. She knows nothing about God and hope 
and heaven. She goes out into the world to be a wife and mother 
of a home. God pity the home when a mother don't know God, 
and where the wife doesn't know Jesus Christ. Home religion, 
home piety. Brethren, I say it with all the earnestness of my heart : 
I would rather raise a true, noble, loyal boy to Christ and the right 
and he just have sense enough to plow a straight furrow, than to 
be the father of the brightest genius in America or in this dominion 
and project him upon the world a dissipated godless wretch that 
will debauch himself and set a bad example to the world. It is not 
how much sense the boy has got, but how much religion ; not how 
well have you trained him in business, but how close does he live 
to Jesus Christ? I'll tell you another thing: When a father hasn't 
left his boys anything but money, he has left them bankrupt. 

(43«) 



Sam P. Jones, 439 

A man of conviction — who says a thing because he means it, 
and means it because he says it ! I like that kind of a man. 

A great many people think that a man has to go to an altar to 
be saved. Confidence in a man is not religion. That altar business 
started down in Georgia about sixty-nine years ago. Where did 
the sinner go before that time? Have they gone to hell because 
they did not go to the altar? A man who believes only in what he 
can see doesn't believe he has got a backbone. I am not running 
on understanding. I could not get to my front gate on understand- 
ing, but I could get from earth to heaven on believing. I am run- 
ning on believing now. 

Thank God for a bee-line to the good world! Do you know 
what a bee-line is? The bee, after going from flower to flower 
with its velvet tread, extracting the honey, soars above the tree-tops, 
and makes a bee-line for its hive. Happy, happy — thrice happy — 
will we be when, after extracting all the sweets out of this life, we 
can soar above the world, and make a bee-line for the glory land ! 

The fact is, a man gets religion a good deal like he gets the 
measles. A fellow gets tangled up with the measles, and in about 
ten days the doctor comes, gives him a cup of good hot tea, and 
tells him to keep on taking that until it breaks out; and then keep 
it broke out, and he will be all right. So some of you have got 
tangled up in this meeting until you feel as bad as a fellow with the 
measles before they break out. A few hot cups of gospel tea will 
make religion break out all over you. Then keep it out, and you are 
all right. But, like the measles, if it goes in on you, it will kill you, 
sure. 

God never does anything for a man that he can do for himself. 
The Lord is too busy for that — to be doing things for men that 
they can do themselves. God never quit drinking for any man; 
that is the man's own lookout. God never quit lying for anybody ; 
that is your own job. God never quit stealing for anybody; that 
is your own business to look after. 



440 Sam P. Jones. 

The church is the last place to be solemn, provided you have 
lived right. 

Look on the inside. When you know yourself you can fight 
your battle. 

You know what a sentinel is ? He can't sleep. You are the same 
for the Lord as he is for the army. 

l£ I am a revivalist, I've grown to be one just as the fingernails 
have grown on my fingers. 

You pack your preachers in an icehouse and abuse them all the 
year because they don't sweat. 

Everything they say about me helps me. If they lie about me, 
I'm so glad it's a lie that I can't get mad. If they tell the truth 
about me, I'm so sorry that I can't get mad. So I always keep in a 
good humor. 

I once knew of a new pastor who, upon taking charge of his 
church, was met by a delegation of the deacons previous to deliver- 
ing his inaugural sermon. They said: "Now, brother, you musn't 
preach about fashion, because our fashionable members will be out 
to hear you. You musn't preach about dram-drinking or liquor- 
selling, because several of our members who are liquor-sellers will 
be out to hear you. You musn't preach about covetousness, be- 
cause several of our millionaire members will be out to hear you." 
"Well, what can I preach about?" he asked in great perplexity. 
"About the Mormons," replied the good deacons; "give 'em blazes; 
there won't be a Mormon to hear you." 

Feeding is moral perspiration. 

The secret of a happy life is to do your duty and trust in God. 

I'd rather die on a well-fought field of battle than run away and 
speculate on the spoils of the war. 

I never see a woman put her nose at me but I say to myself: 
"All right; some of these days the devil will foreclose his mort- 




B. O. EXCEIvL. 




QUARTETTE THAT SANG AT MR. JONES' FUNERAL. 
Chas. Tiij,man. E. O. Excei/e,. 

F. E. Oliver. E. R. Smoot. 



Sam P. Jones. 441 

gage on that nose and get the whole gal with u." Whenever you 
see me with a grubbing-hoe on my shoulder I'm out after grubs, 
and if you ain't a grub sit still — I'm not after you. Do you catch 
the idea? 

When you think a preacher has got wings you are mistaken. 

Suppose I had received a box by express. It is iron and wood 
and it is all in a bunch and I say I can't make out what it is ; put it 
in the garret with the rubbish. A day or two after I get a book 
with pictures in it and directions how to put my machinery to- 
gether, I follow the directions and have a sewing-machine. It does 
its work like a thing in life. The man that made that machine 
made the book and the man that made the book made the machine. 
Listen ! Sixteen years ago I was all out of fix. Sixteen years ago I 
got the book and put myself together and I have been running all 
right ever since. I say that the man that made me made the book 
and the man that made the book made me. 

ThERE are some people who like to be a hammer, but they won't 
be an anvil. We preachers are all willing to be hammers and strike. 
The softest people in the world are the preachers and editors. They 
are always pounding, but they won't be pounded on. Those who 
criticise are the hardest to take criticism. . I don't object to them 
pounding me. If they can pound me I can pound them. If your 
toes are stepped on just grin and bear it. I like a bulldog the best 
in the world. You can hold him up by the ears two days and he 
won't whine. I wish we had more bulldog in us and less bench- 
legged fice. Endure affliction. 

How can we win souls to Christ ? Some of the churches say rent 
the pews. My, my, my. If Sam Jones should charge admission 
they would get up and say he was making merchandise of God's 
v/ord. 

Show me a church that does not believe in revivals and I will 
show you a church that looks like an abandoned cemetery. Stag- 
nation! Stagnation! Stagnation! Talk about enthusiasm! We are 
not suffering in that line. Stagnation is the last station this side of 



442 Sam P. Jones. 

damnation. I say that we Methodists and Baptists and Presbyte- 
rians believe in revivals. We go for them. But revivals are not the 
best things in the world. Rather the need of revival is a proof that 
we are not right. It is an abnormal state of things that makes re- 
vivals necessary. I want to be understood. So long as the churches 
work on the plan they now work on, revivals are a necessity. What 
would become of us without them ? 

A great many people object to pointed preaching because it 
pains them, they say. This suggests the story of the old lady whose 
daughter's tooth ached. She sent for a dentist. He came and pulled 
out a pair of big, old-fashioned forceps. The old lady screamed 
out, "Don't put them things in my daughter's mouth; pull it out 
with your fingers !" That would be mighty nice if it could be done. 
God bless you all ! if you will let me get the old gospel forceps hold 
of these teeth, I will bring them out, but I can not pull them with 
my fingers. I want that understood. 

The difference between the devil and the penitentiary is, that the 
penitentiary works you hard and boards you, but the devil puts you 
to the meanest, dirtiest jobs in the world, and makes you board 
yourself. 

Shall I ask you little dudes and dudines how to preach the gos- 
pel? 

If any one thinks he can't stand the naked truth rubbed on a lit- 
tle thicker and faster than he ever had it before, he'd better get out. 
of here. 

If negative goodness was religion, then one of these lamp-posts 
out here would be the best Christian in town ; it never cursed, nor 
swore ; not drank a drop since it was made ; it never did anything 
wrong. 

The lawyer who knows as little about Blackstone and the Su- 
preme Court reports as the average Christian does about the Bible 
would never have but one case. The sheriff would be his next 
client. ■' i 



CHAPTER XLVIL 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

Look here, brother, I have had about as much trouble in some 
days of my life as you had, but I never took more trouble to bed 
with me than I could knock off* at one lick. 

Politicians have no more heart than a Florida alligator or a so- 
ciety woman. 

When you dilly-dally and waver about religion, let me tell you, 
brethren, the devil puts you down, soul and body, on his side . . . 
As men live so they die, and if you can't afford to die on the devil's 
side, let me say to you that you had better not get on that side at 
all. 

I have the profoundest contempt for those colonels and majors 
and judges who grace our curbstones and saloons. They have noth- 
ing to commend them to God but their money and their means. If 
there is anybody I want to see go to heaven it is poor white folks 
and niggers. 

Do you know what a cornstalk revival is? Well, if you were to 
pile up a lot of cornstaiks as high as this house and burn them up 
there would not be a hod full of ashes. We want a revival of 
righteousness. We want a revival of honesty. We want a revival 
of cleanliness and purity. 

I know when a man opens his mouth on the fuinous effects of 
whisky he is dubbed a "political preacher," a politician drumming 
for some party. I don't go much on party myself. That's so. I 
want the political parties of this country to crawl up out of the 
mud and wash themselves from head to foot and put on clean 
clothes before I have anything to do with them. 

(443) 



444 Sam P. Jones. 

Heu, is the center of gravity for wickedness ; heaven is the cen- 
ter of gravity for righteousness. This is the lineage of damnation,, 
and the lineage of salvation. 

There are more little lawyers in this city who think that if they 
missed being at court, justice would be overruled and constitutional 
government destroyed. There are doctors who don't have three 
cases a week who think that if they miss an hour from their office 
the whole town would break out in yellow fever, smallpox and the 
like. Poor little fellows. 

What is a military general worth to his country who never fires 
a gun or gives an order? That's the way to look at it. 

If you think the world needs you you're a fool. You die and 
they lay you out here and the world moves on as though you were 
never born. 

When a man is bragging that his father is a colonel, you may 
put it down that his father is ashamed of him. 

Ignorance is round as a ball and slick as a button; it's got no 
handle to it and you can't manage it. 

Foolishness is the stuff what you rub on fools. 

Let's make it fashionable to love God and keep His command- 
ments. 

When God gives a man a good wife and fifteen children or so, 
he's all right; when the devil gives him a society woman, and a 
poodle dog, he's in a bad way. 

Society is a heartless old wretch ; and if you don't get out of it 
you will go to hell with it. 

Methodism never could do much at being fashionable. 

You will go to the store and give four dollars a yard for a piece 
of goods — and the more it costs the better you like it — and then 
you will go over to Sister Brown, a poor, good woman in your 



Sam P. Jones. 445 

church, and give her half a dollar for making it; and if the devil 
doesn't get you it is because he ain't got anything against Sister 
Brown. The meanest woman in the world is the woman who will 
give four dollars a yard for her dress, and then go over to that 
poor old woman who is a member of her church and jew her down 
to the last nickel she can get her to make it for. 

A gr^at many people, with what little religion they have, will 
run out in the corner and sit down and say, "God save me and my 
wife, and my son John and his wife, us four and no more !" That 
is the sort of religion that is cursing the world. 

Christian, if you don't do the clean things they will jump on 
you. If you don't live up to what you profess, the meanest sinner 
in the town will point the finger of scorn at you. Don't forget that ! 
If a horse is sound, he don't mind being currycombed; but if he 
is not sound and has any tender spots, he will kick and bite when 
the comb is run over his hide. Why, if he's sound, he'll just lean up 
against the comb and enjoy it. That's the way it is with the 
Christian. He don't mind criticisms if he's all right, but he'll kick 
and squirm if he ain't. Yes, he will. 

There is a class in this community that I have a hearty con- 
tempt for, and yet I pity them. They come up to the preacher and 
tell him to scratch off their names. They_are goin' to quit. Ain't 
goin' to try any longer. What would you think of a man that 
would get trusted every day at your store for a year, and then 
walk in on Christmas, owing you five dundred dollars and tell you 
to scratch off his name ; he is going to Texas ? You would tell him 
to go to Texas or to perdition. You would want your five hundred 
dollars. Yet this man comes into the church and lives five or six 
years, and has had a thousand blessings, and yet he says he is go- 
ing to quit. Going to quit telling the truth; quit staying sober; 
quit being a man, and going to be a dog. If you take a small auger 
and bore into that man, you won't bore very long until you dis- 
cover he is all dog but his hide. 

HERE are a hundred before me who have promised God, in time 



446 Sam P. Jones. 

of extremity, they would do better. Sister, you promised it to him 
on your death-bed, if he would restore you. That is what discounts 
death-bed repentances. Men get well from their death-beds and 
never do any better. They have lived and never did better, and I 
am afraid when they died they were lost. 

There is so much sham in this country — a religion with a brown 
stone front and brickbat, mortar and stick back. Let's have a 
brown-stone religion all around. 

I know of one church when twenty were praying for the millen- 
nium and two hundred were playing for the booby prize in a pro- 
gressive euchre. Such Christians as that would not be in heaven 
six months before they would be gambling for each other's crown. 

What is a little party ? It is nothing but a big party with short 
clothes on. What is a big party ? It is nothing in the world but the 
anteroom to a ballroom. And what is a ballroom ? It is the ante- 
room to a german. And what is a german ? It is the anteroom to 
eternal disgrace. And what is eternal disgrace? It is hell-fire. 
Now you see how it goes. 

A woman who had seen the german said to me : "Mr. Jones, you 
can tell the world it is nothing but hugging set to music." A boy 
at a dance was asked by his companion to get up and dance. "No/* 
said he, "let's sit down and hug." I like that boy's grit. 

If you will testify that dancing helps you to be religious, and 
helps you to be good, and helps you to live right ; if you will testify 
so, in order that we may have one way, we will adopt the dancing 
route and a dancing-hall in every member's house, and will have 
movable pews in the church and every Wednesday night will move 
the pews and have a dancing meeting. If dancing is a good thing 
let's all assist ; if it's not, let's all give it up. 

If there is a thing in this world I have the profoundest contempt 
for, it's the infernal dancing-master going through the land de- 
spoiling the young people of our country. 



Sam P. Jones. 447 

God never gave a woman a child to debauch it by sending it to a 
dancing-school kept by an old hook-nosed Frenchman. 

Go into a ballroom with your Christian light. It will go out. It 
won't bum there. 

Some people will forego their religious happiness and their relig- 
ious usefulness for the sake of having three dances a year. A wo- 
man goes and she dances. She goes again and dances, and dances, 
and dances, until she opens her eyes in hell — but she danced. 

Sow little parties and reap big ones. Sow these and reap ball- 
rooms. Sow these and reap germans, and from these reap spider- 
legged dudes, and from these you'll reap a half thimbleful of 
calves' foot jelly. 

The woman that never helped the Lord never got much help 
from the Lord. The best way to help yourself is to help somebody 
else. You take society about this town. If I had the money that 
the Christian women, so-called, pay at the theater during the year, 
I could run every charitable institution in this town grandly. That 
is a fact. You can't walk to church — it is too far; but you will 
walk the next night a third farther to the theater, and your husband 
does not really want to go. Let us try and reform ourselves on this 
line. 

Life's in a community. Here is a theater on this street. Here 
is a prayer-meeting across the way. There they go, and you can 
not tell whose dogs they are to save your life. But when they get 
to the intersection of the streets, and they turn toward the theater 
or toward the prayer-meeting you know who are the devil's dogs, 
and who belong to the Lord. There is no use saying any more 
about it for the forks of the road tell whose dogs they are. 

A man once asked me how long it had been since I had been at a 
theater. I told him I had not been at the theater since I had quit 
being a vagabond. 

And there are women in St. Louis that will go and hear things 
in the theater whose tendencies are the most vulgar of the vulgar, 



448 Sam P. Jones. 

and she will be tickled all over, and she will come to the church and 
she will have her poor little nerves all shocked to pieces at some- 
thing Sam Jones says, and she will turn up her nose at me, and I can 
always tell when the devil has got a mortgage on a woman's nose. 
It is always turning up. And he is going to foreclose it some of 
these days, too, sister, and he will get the gal when he gets the nose. 

Put the Lord Jesus Christ by you in a theater and see how he 
looks at certain things said in that theater; and there are Meth- 
odists in this house, and members in all the churches that patronize 
those places, and if they were to go into your parlor the next day 
and say the things they heard there the night before, you would 
kick them over your front gate. 

And I say to you to-day, God never prayed in any man's family 
for him; God never took up anybody's cross for him. There is a 
great deal of this work of salvation on your own shoulders, and my 
great desire is to take hold of men and pull them up where God can 
save them. I say it is a moral impossibility for God to take a man 
to heaven when every step of that man's life is downward and hell- 
ward. 

Salvation or damnation is a personal matter. Nobody will die 
for you; nobody will stand in your place at the judgment bar of 
God. 

Going to heaven is just like riding a bicycle. You have to keep- 
a-going to keep-a-going. You got to keep a-moving — you can't 
stop. 

I put Christianity and infidelity together here and say, "Chris- 
tianity, what have you done?" "I have come into the world on a 
commission of mercy. I have founded orphan asylums. I have 
brought peace to many a soul." "Infidelity, is that true?" "Yes, 
that is so." "What are you doing, Infidelity?" "I am fighting 
Christianity." I had rather be a convict than to have a job like 
that. 

A man or a chicken is no good without sand in his gizzard. 



CHAPTER XLVIIL 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

Here's your logic : Because God is good I'll sin and keep on fight- 
ing him. I am sorry we ever fired a gun on that grand old flag at 
Fort Sumter. But Beauregard did it. He turned his guns on it, 
and the guns were answered ; back and forth went shot and shell till 
the walls crumbled and were laid low. All at once a white flag 
went up from the center of the fort. Beauregard said : "Boys, roll 
back your guns and get your boats and don't suffer a hair on the 
head of those men to be touched." Well, God has been firing at 
this old world and we've been answering back hard, and many of 
our fathers and mothers have gone down in the struggle. God 
turned his big guns on us. I say let's run up the white flag. If we 
do, He will say to his angels : "Roll back your guns, go down and 
take the bread of heaven and give it to them. See to it that the sun 
does not smite them by day, nor the moon touch them by night." 
Who'll run up the white flag to-night ? 

Fm really glad that our salvation does not depend upon our be- 
lieving this or that creed. Many preachers devote most of their ef- 
forts to showing that their creed is the only right creed, and defend- 
ing it, instead of preaching Christianity to dying men. I am sorry 
for the preachers who have a creed that needs defense. The Meth- 
odist creed can not be swallowed by a great many men ; the Pres- 
byterian creed won't go down with a great many wise people; nor 
will the Catholic or any other creed. When we boil it down it 
comes to just this: God never said that believers in the first five 
points of Calvin should be saved, nor he who believes in the im- 
mersion, nor he who believes in the sprinkling, nor that he who 
believes in the final perseverance, nor that he believes in the im- 

(449) 



450 Sam P. Jones. 

mutability of the Pope, nor that he who believes in apostolic suc- 
cession — shall be saved, but "Whosoever believeth on Jesus Christ 
shall be saved. ,, 

Some say, "My trouble is doubt." If you will take hold of your 
doubt and pull it up by the roots, you will find a seed at the bottom, 
and that seed is sin. If you will empty your hearts and meet the 
conditions then the doubts will be gone. 

IF you quit sinning you will quit doubting. 

Infidelity can grow only on the soil littered by the lives of un- 
faithful members of the church. That's it. Oh, for the faith that 
takes God in as He is. The man who don't believe is a mere pigmy 
in the church. I believe the Bible just as it was written, and I be- 
lieve that the whale swallowed Jonah. I would have believed it 
just the same if it had said that Jonah swallowed the whale. I've 
got no better sense than to believe the Bible. Call me a fool for it, 
and I'm a happy fool. 

I believe every word in the Bible. I accept everything between 
the lids of the Book. I have good reasons for my faith. 

The best thing a man can do in this world is to do right, the 
worst thing a man can do is to do wrong. 

I want to be a true man — a man in the pulpit, at home, every- 
where and under all circumstances. If I were to become satisfied 
to-morrow that the pulpit was absolutely shaking the foundations 
of my manhood I would come out of it, because I would rather be 
one true man than forty preachers, and I want to get out of the pul- 
pit just one day beforehand. 

Every true man is an eternal millionaire. 

I had rather be a man in the truest sense of the word than the 
best angel in heaven. 

Reputation is cheap. Reputation is like the glove. I may put it 
on my hand or take it off, or rend it to pieces and throw it away, and 



Sam P. Jones. 451 

not feel the loss of it. But character is the hand itself; and when 
once it is scarred it is scarred forever. Character is immortal. 
Character shall live on beyond the stars. Character shall live as 
long as God lives. Character-building is the one work of true men 
in this world. I used to want religion, when I was a sinner, to 
keep me out of hell. I used to think that I would love to have re- 
ligion that I might get to heaven. But heaven and hell are both 
'secondary with me now. I want religion now and forevermore. 

A man wants a soul big enough for God and the angels and all 
men to come in and live with him. 

If a man believes he is right the next thing he wants is courage 
that will dare to do right. 

I GET disgusted with some little fellows who are always talking 
that they preach Christ, and nothing but Christ, to sinners. I would 
as soon preach Socrates to an unconvicted sinner as to preach 
Christ. He's got just about as much use for one as the other. The 
law of God is a great moral force which moves the world and the 
law is what ought to be preached first, that conviction may follow. 

The devil has no better servant than a preacher who is laying 
feather-beds for fallen Christians to light on. 

There is one preacher in this town that won't come to these 
-meetings, but he says he is a-praying for Sam Jones's success — and 
won't come here. Praying for Christ to associate with a man he 
won't. Too much of a gentleman. Win souls for Christ, that's 
the evangelist's work. You say you can't find sinners. A Christian 

in that can't find sinners. My, my, my, you can't find them ? 

Ain't you a dandy? There are three kinds of setter dogs. One a 
-cover dog ; one a single-bird dog ; one a retriever. One will flush 
up whole droves of birds at once. Another kind will just get up one 
at a time and you can kill them every pop. The retriever will go out 
and find them and bring them to you. Now, which are you going 
to be ? I wish you were more like setter dogs, spiritually speaking, 
I mean. Now, don't you go and get mad and say that I compared 
_you to dogs. I wouldn't hurt the dog's feelings. 



me.' 



452 Sam P. Jones. 

I'd rather be a man than a dignified preacher. 

I want to be a good man and a good husband, but God keep me 
from being a "nice" preacher. 

The; greatest blessing that ever crowned an American or a Cana- 
dian church is a "game" preacher that is not afraid of man or 
devil. 

I would rather associate with a dog than with a profane swearer. 
This may sound strange; but I know what I am talking about. A 
man may associate with a dog until he becomes doggish; but a 
swearer can make him hellish. A man's affinities determine who he 
is, and what he is. 

Many a man will lie down in hell and say : "My tongue damned 
e." 

You may baptize a man all over, but his tongue will come out as 
dry as powder. 

The Scriptures teach me clearly that my life can never be better 
than my heart. The Scriptures teach me that a bad tree can not 
bring forth good fruit; neither can a good tree bring forth bad 
fruit. It also teaches me that no salt fountain can send forth fresh 
water; neither can a fresh fountain send forth salt water. 

Two years or more ago I walked through John Wanamaker's 
store in Philadelphia. He told me some days he had three thousand 
clerks. Ten thousand customers buying goods all at one time. I say, 
"You've got everything, ain't you ?" He replies, "Mr. Jones, I have 
worked for years to complete my store so that a customer can find 
everything he wants. That's where my customers get their dinner. 
I've got it fixed so that a man does not need to go out for his meal." 
God Almighty was four hundred years getting up this Book and 
every want of the universe can be supplied out of this Book. If I 
had the billions of men of earth before me I would refer them to 
this precious Book. Here's a blesed balm for every wound, a cure 
for every ill. Thank God for this precious Book, divinely written 
and divinely given to save the world. 



Sam P. Jones* 453: 

This is the Book of books. This is the Book of knowledge. 
This is the Book which tells how to get to heaven. Glory to God 
for this precious Book. My mother lived by its precepts and pil- 
lowed her head upon it. It was the Book of my father and the light 
of his home. 

Talk about Ingersoll, I never met an intelligent man yet that 
had been damned by Robert Ingersoll. The only difference in 
Ingersoll and any other fellow running after him is this : Ingersoll 
plays the fool for fifteen hundred dollars per night, and this little 
fellow runs after him and plays the fool for nothing and boards him- 
self. And I tell you that Ingersoll is going to continue to play that 
kind of fool as long as this country gives him fifteen hundred dol- 
lars per night. 

I NEVER met a sinner in all my work who said that Bob Ingersoll 
stood in his way of coming to Christ. I never met a sinner who 
was bothered about Ingersoll's blatant tomfoolery. If I did, I would 
say : "Old fellow, you need not trouble about getting religion ; you 
have not sense enough; God, in my opinion, will take you into 
heaven at a side-door." 

I want to see the day in this country when no decent woman 
will put anything on her table that will made a fool of her husband. 
The biggest fool woman in this State is the woman who will go to 
the closet and get the demijohn and bring it out and fix up a drink 
for her husband. You have not sense enough to keep out of the 
fire; your place is in the lunatic asylum. 

I have; never been converted, if a man must believe something 
afterward that he didn't believe before. 

Keep my boy poor and honest, and let him die a fool. If you 
are doing wrong, quit it. 

I NEVER had much confidence in a man that would do things in 
New York that he wouldn't do at home. You have some of that 
sort here. A fellow that is sober as a judge at home, when he goes 
on a fishing tour can not get along without a jug of whisky; and 
he drinks it all the way along and claims to be pious. 



454 Sam P. Jones. 

The roar of commerce, the click of the telegraph, and the whistle 
of the engine have well-nigh drowned out the voice of God. But, 
amid all these rough trials and present transactions, it is well 
enough to put our hand up to our ear now and then and look up and 
hear what God has to say. Let us listen to that still small voice that 
never misled a man a step, and never deceived a man's soul ; let us 
listen to that voice which, if you hear it aright, will make you wise 
unto salvation. 

The great curse of the world to-day is not out of the church, but 
in it. I know I touch upon ground that may bring out resentment, 
but, brethren, the harder and louder I say this the more I resemble 
my Divine Master. He gave the "amen corners" bringes- when- 
ever he met them. Every denunciatory sentence He uttered was 
to the church, to the members of the church. But to the sinner he 
says : "You are like the lost sheep which the shepherd sought and 
bore home on his shoulder." He didn't kick or beat the sheep, for 
it could not stand it. But he thundered his reproof to the Scribes, 
Pharisees and Publicans. All we want is a church like Christ wants, 
to march forth and win the world for Him. God grant us power 
to go out in the spirit of grace and bring back the lost sheep. It 
would be healthy if every member of the church would ask him- 
self these questions: "Suppose every other member was like me, 
how would the spirit of prayer succeed? how would the expenses 
be paid? how much sympathy would the pastor receive?" It 
wouldn't be long before you came to this conclusion : "Here is the 
biggest humbug God Almighty allows to live in the church." I 
can stand a railroad humbug, a business humbug, a newspaper hum- 
bug, but God deliver me from a religious humbug. I believe it 
was at Princeton that some young fellows tried to fool a professor 
who was a bugologist and knew bugs from creation down. Thev 
made up a bug from the head, wings, feet and legs of different 
bugs, and taking it to him, said, "What kind of a bug is this ?" He 
replied, "Why, that's a humbug." Now, take the hands of a swin- 
dler, the head of a keen trickster and the mouth of a saint, put them 
together and you have the biggest kind of a humbug. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

Don't worry about your money. God bless you, bud, they'll haul 
you off in a shroud without a pocket — and if it had a pocket your 
arm would be too stiff to get into it. 

There are four things you can appeal to in a boy — his sense of 
honor, his conscience, his pride, and, lastly, his hide. 

Iff the public has to educate your kid the public should have the 
right to lick your kid. 

You fool clerks who gamble, you go to these upstairs rooms and. 
let them milk you and turn you loose — just like the farmer does the 
cow. Only the cow has got more sense than you. The cow gets 
the grass and you get nothing. 

We see God all around us. The mountains are God's thoughts 
piled up. The rivers are God's thoughts in motion. The oceans. 
are God's thoughts embedded. The dewdrops are God's thoughts 
in pearls. 

I BEWEVE that the whale swallowed Jonah, and the only reason I 
don't believe that Jonah swallowed the whale is because the Bible 
don't say so. 

He has either a mighty long head or a mighty short creed who* 
believes only what he understands. 

Repentance is the first conscious movement of the soul from 
sin toward God. 

Thank God this old world has never seen the time when it did. 
not take its hat off and make a decent bow to a good woman. 

(455) 



456 Sam P. Jones. 

I didn't say a clerk who gambles will steal — I just 'most said it. 

I BELIEVE the greatest moral monstrosity in the universe is an 
impious woman. I can understand how men can be wicked, and 
turn their backs on God, and live in sin; but the greatest moral 
monstrosity is a woman with the tender arms of her children 
around her, their eyes looking up into her eyes with innocent love, 
and that mother despising God in her heart. 

Religion is like measles; if it goes in on you it will kill you. 
The trouble with a great many Christians in this city is, religion has 
gone in on them. Keep it broke out on hands, feet and tongue. 

Every day ought to keep good company. There is not an angel 
in heaven that would not be corrupted by the company that some of 
you keep. 

In a Georgia town a number of girls married men to reform them ; 
now the town is full of little whippoorwill widows. 

Whisky is a good thing in its place, and that place is in hell. 

The capacity of a woman for making everybody about her un- 
comfortable can not be calculated by any known process of arith- 
metic. 

The Christian who will do things in New York that he would 
not do at home is a very poor Christian. 

It takes less sense to criticise than to do anything else. There 
are a great many critics in the asylum. 

I don't think much of dignity. My observation is that the more 
dignity a man has the nearer dead he is. 

There are three thousand guilty men in this audience to-night, 
and if they thought they were going to be found out, there would 
be an awful dusting out of town before to-morrow night. 

When you find a man that is first-class at some one thing, you 
will find him pretty good for everything else. 



Mr. Jones Playing Golf at Winona Lake, Ind. 



Mr. Jones and Gen. Booth at a Chautauqua. 




Mr. Jones in the Country. Mr. Jones and Senator Patrick Walsh. 

A CHARACTERISTIC GROUP. 




LAST PHOTOGRAPH OF REV. AND MRS. SAM P. JONES. 



Sam P. Jones. 457 

You don't believe what you don't understand? Do you under- 
stand why some cows have horns and some are muley ? 

Let's quit singing the "Sweet By-and-by" and sing the "Sweet- 
Now-and-riow." 

If you tell me what you love and what you hate, I will tell you 
your character. 

If the devil ever puts his foot upon a woman once, she never 
gets up any more. 

The biggest fool God's eyes ever looked upon is the woman who 
stirs the toddy for her husband. 

If my daughter only had one dress that should be a whole one. 
If it lacked anything at all I should cut it off at the bottom' and not 
at the top. 

They will put you in jail for stealing a man's money, but you 
can be an average church member and steal a man's character. 

It is worth something to a man to belong to a good family. 

Old sinners are not satisfied with us unless we live better than 
they do. 

A man is not a sinner because he is an infidel; he is an infidel 
because he is a sinner. 

I rather like the expression of that good old woman who cried 
out: "Oh, Lord, if you will only save me in this world, you shall 
never hear the last of it in the next." 

Gossip is always about a person. Decent talk is about things, 
and unless your neighbor is a thing you frequently indulge in gossip. 

A man don't have to live, but a man must do right if he wants to 
come out right. 

I won't sell whisky. As I told you once, I've been fool enough 
to drink it, but never was fool enough to sell it. [Laughter.] 



458 Sam P. Jones. 

A good many people are going to be good when they get to 
lieaven. Well, old feller, you'd better be good down here or you 
won't get in. 

A great many members of the church in town, you can't trust 
them all ; they won't pay you. Just think of a man afraid of getting 
to heaven for fear of meeting his creditors. 

Now, don't you go away and say Sam Jones encouraged you to 
commit suicide, 'cause I didn't. But I'd go down to the harbor and 
-crawl under a wharf and die before I'd sell whisky, though. 

FvE been solemn many times, and I went to a doctor for it, I did. 
1 found I had a diseased liver, and got a prescription for it. And 
there's many a fellow going through this world taking diseased 
liver for a clean heart. [Laughter.] 

Whenever I see an old maid I just know some feller hain't done 
liis duty; and when I see an old bachelor, it makes me think of a 
liog. I don't know why it comes up in this connection, but it does. 

There's preachers in this town that wouldn't create a ripple of 
laughter in their audience for any price — I don't believe they could, 
anyway. They say the dignity of the pulpit must be -maintained at 
any cost, and all they have done is to keep the pulpit way up in the 
air. [Laughter.] 

I want to see people come to prayer-meeting with a rush; pray 
with a rush ; sing with a rush ; and stop a-blowing about their aches 
and pains, ups and downs. 

Tiviy tell you how I've stood all I've been through. I'm always in 
a good humor, I am. I believe that fun is the next best thing to 
religion, and if religion can't triumph over temperament, it ain't 
much account. 

Did you ever hear a shout in Boston ? If five or six would go ter 
shouting here in this place to-day, a lot of old women would jump 
up hysterically, and say, "Oh, I just can't stand this excitement in 
a church." And these same old women will go home to-night and 



Sam P. Jones. 459 

raise the devil with the cook over some burnt biscuit. [Great 
laughter.] 

It does tickle me to see the old devil's old gang trying to do like 
the young gang. Some people in the church have run so long that 
when the devil taps his gong you all, old people, hope to respond. 
[Laughter.] 

Why not preach the gospel so that it tastes good? I always like 
sugar in my coffee and salt in my bread. [Laughter.] 

Give me the gospel in its purity and power, and so I can relish it. 
[Aniens.] Fix it so they'll love it. "Delight yourself in your 
Lord." 

Give me a cheerful, bright, happy Christian that loves God and 
carries his love in his heart. I've mixed with all classes; haven't 
mixed much with the solemn crowds, though, and don't have to. 

When St. Peter said "add to your knowledge- temperance," he did 
not have reference to you old red-nosed Methodists. Any man who 
pretends to be a Christian and drinks whisky is a great big old hum- 
bug — a two-legged hypocrite. 

Society is a heartless old wretch, and if you don't get out of it 
you will go to hell with it. 

When the doctor says you can't live but an hour you'll want just 
such a preacher as myself talking to you. 

God bores through the top of a man's head to his heart and on- 
down to his pocket. 

If any of you don't like the way these services are going, there 
are three doors — you are cordially asked to leave. 

When your little cup's full you can just back out. 

Red liquor and Christianity won't stay in the same hide. 

How lovely is a patient woman. God pity the man who has a 
forked-tongued wife. 



CHAPTER L. 



Sayings of Sam P. Jones (Continued). 

Every unfaithful official, every little prosecuting attorney who 
compounds a felony or compromises a crime, is an insult to the 
American people and very fit to be called worse names than crimi- 
nals themselves. 

Nine out of ten of these indecent pictures you see posted around 
the streets on the walls are of women. Is it possible that women 
<ire leading the immodesty of the age ? And do you know that peo- 
ple get their cues largely from pictures ? 

What you should want is an honest dollar, honestly earned. The 
kind of a dollar which a man can put into his trousers pocket, put 
his trousers under his pillow and let the eagle on the coin change 
into a nightingale and sing him to sleep. 

Terms like "hog" and "dog" sound very grating and harsh to the 
ears of some of the good people. But residents of a city where 
twenty-three hundred saloons are running every day in the week 
are the last people who should clamor for decency. 

And these fat old women, who must have their beer for their 
health's sake ! They make me tired, that's what they do. If I had 
a wife like that, when I went home I wouldn't say "Where is your 
mother?" or "Where is she?" but simply, "Where is it?" 

If a man has a pull he can commit every crime known to the laws 
of the State and go un whipped of justice. I imagine that there are 
about two thousand men with a pull who break the Sunday laws in 
this city every week and are never called to account for it. 

The preacher has many opportunities that he does not avail him- 

(460) 










THOMAS DUNHAM, FOR TWENTY-ONE YEARS, "HIS BABY FRIEND. 



Sam P. Jones. 461 

self of. He eats his breakfast, reads his letters and attends to his 
correspondence until noon. Then he says, "I'm tired. I think I'll 
lie down and rest this afternoon," and all the time the devil is busy 
working away. 

WE preachers do not any longer speak with authority. If I should 
go through Edison's laboratory and he should tell me not to touch 
a live wire I would not do so. I should be an angel in a minute. 
Preachers tell a man if he keeps on sinning he will go to hell, and he 
leaves the church, saying : "Shucks, I have heard that before." 

If a lot of bums, thugs and low-down people were to get together 
and form a club and buy the best liquor they could get their hands 
on and open a room somewhere, I'll warrant you it would not be long 
before the police would raid it. But let it be a rich man's club; let 
its members have plenty of money, gild their deviltry, put plenty of 
frills and laces on it, and there isn't a policemen that won't walk by 
the door, raising his hat to the club-house. 

I was born a Democrat and raised a Democrat, and remained a 
Democrat as long as I thought a Christian gentleman could. Then 
I pulled out. You Republicans need not laugh. I thank God I 
never got low enough to run with your gang. You Republicans 
claim to be a party of great moral ideas. It's a great lie. You ran 
this party for thirty years on a dead-stretch, and then when you 
turned it over to the Democrats it was soaked in whisky from Maine 
to California, and the government was in partnership with the whole 
damnable business. 

The roar of commerce, the click of the telegraph and the whistle 
of the engine have well-nigh drowned out the voice of God. 

We little preachers think that we are doing first-rate if we take 
a text and announce about three propositions and discuss them for 
an hour. But do you know that Christ in His sermon on the Mount 
announced and discussed one hundred and twenty-five different 
propositions in the compass of half an hour? 

If I had a creed I would sell it to a museum. Creed shows itself 



462 Sam P. Jones. 

in the laws of the last few hundred years. It was over creed that 
men fought, and not over Christ. Orthodoxes are what has ruined 
this world. 

The back door of the church ought to be opened once a year and. 
give all who have not lived up to its rules an opportunity to pass out. 

Bob IngersoIvL — and I never call his name without feeling the 
need of a disinfectant — says whisky is God's worst enemy and the 
devil's best friend. He is good authority on that side. 

When I first started out I was afraid I would hurt somebody's- 
feelings. Now I aip afraid I won't. 

You may not like my grammar. I am trying to get my style and 
grammar down on a level with you. 

God can't elect any man unless he is a candidate. 

Every barroom is a recruiting office for hell. 

Sow whisky and you'll reap drunkards. 

Christ won't stay in a house with the cellar full of whisky. 

The most demoralizing and damning thing and the most insidious. 
is the city club. 

I have seen men converted from the barroom and from every- 
thing else, but never, never have I seen a man converted from a club- 

Religion don't help a fellow to quit his meanness, but it helos. 
him to stay quit. 

Doubts are but the children of sin. 

Repentance is quitting your meanness. 

Infidelity is nine-tenths mouth. 

Give your heart to God and he will comb the kinks out of your 
head. 

If ever my daughters cut off any of their skirts, I don't want them 
to cut from the top. 



Sam P. Jones. 463 

The tune of America is pitched to the dollar. 
A man is never any better in politics than his party. 
You can't bribe God's grand jury when you come to judgment. 
You can cover up everything this side of hell with a five-dollar 
bill. 

Custom is the law of fools, and is ruining this country. 

God pity the man who can't run his home without a deck of cards. 
He ought to have been in hell long before he had children born unto 
him. 

If any man don't like what I say, let him come to me afterwards 
and say so, and I'll — forgive him. 

You dance with this world and you'll go to hell with this world. 

I have no respect for Mahone's politics, but I like his answer to 
the question, how much he weighed. He said : "I weigh ninety-five 
pounds, but ninety pounds of that is backbone," 

ThERE is more religion in laughing than in crying. If religion 
consists in crying I have the best boy in the world. 

I photograph your own ugliness, and you sit here and laugh 
-at it. 

Some people say I ought not to call a drinking man a lying rascal. 
If he drinks, ain't he a rascal ? And if he says he can't quit, ain't he 
lying ? Now couple the two things together and you have the lying 
rascal. I talk plain. I call a spade a spade and a hog a hog. 

I am a Methodist, and want to be the best one God ever made. 

I don't worry much about the mysteries of the Bible or Melchiz- 
•edeck's children, or such things as that. 

IF I understood all about the Bible, I'd know that somebody that 
didn't have any more sense than I have wrote it. 

To think of the saloons being kept alive by members of the church. 



464 Sam P. Jones. 

I don't speak from a theological, but a logical standpoint. I 
never studied theology a moment in my life. 

The word "convert" is from the Latin terms con and verto 
— "turn altogether." Now, I used to think that every old sinner 
was in a wilderness of sin and that it would take him a week to find 
the road out, but I've found out now that when a man's converted 
all he has to do is to turn right about. 

Now, when a man wants to be converted he musn't just "con," 
nor he musn't just "verto." He must "converto" — turn altogether. 

Now, you've had your back on heaven and going hellward all your 
life. Do you want the illustration any plainer than that? Here's 
a man who has been drinking all his life. He is going to a saloon. 
He decides to quit. What must he do to be converted? He must 
turn from liquor and join a temperance society, which is the anti- 
podes of the saloon. 

A conversion isn't worth anything unless its a double conver- 
sion. A man must be converted from something to something. 

I was converted -from whisky to prohibition — uncompromising 
prohibition. 

The only thing I have to say against the saloon-keeper is that he 
is just like a louse. He makes his living off the heads of families. 

I have more respect for an old toper than one of these elegant 
gentlemen who go in and drink liquor at a saloon, and then pose as 
churchmen outside. 
















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